The institutional twinning project aimed at strengthening the control of plant protection products, fertilizers and growing media was launched on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 in Rabat, during a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries. , Aziz Akhannouch, in the presence of representatives of the EU delegation and the embassies of France and Germany in Morocco.
With funding from the European Union (EU) of 1,200,000 euros and lasting 24 months (2015-2017), this twinning project has the following main objectives:
ü Review and update of legislation and regulations concerning plant protection products, fertilizers and crop supports;
ü Improvement of capacities in terms of risk assessment and management of plant protection products, fertilizers and crop supports;
ü Improving the capacities of the structures responsible for controlling pesticide residues on and in foodstuffs.
The main expected results are:
ü The national regulations organizing the phytopharmaceutical products sector will be updated and the regulations organizing the marketing of fertilizers and crop supports will be drawn up and promulgated;
ü Technical capacities in the evaluation and management of applications and registration files for plant protection products, fertilizers and crop supports will be strengthened and the control of these products on import, distribution and their use will be improved;
ü The structures responsible for controlling pesticide residues on and in foodstuffs will be strengthened and the risk of exceeding maximum residue limits (MRLs) will be reduced for better consumer protection and to avoid cases of refoulement of goods exported for cause. exceeding the MRLs set by the regulations of the country of destination.
The monitoring and management of the project will be ensured by a steering committee composed of:
- Project manager: Director General of ONSSA;
- Project Managers from selected Member States;
- Resident Twinning Advisor;
- Resident Twinning Consultant Counterpart;
- Representative of the Delegation of the European Union in Rabat;
- Representative of the support unit for the “Succeeding Advanced Status” Program (Ministry of Economy and Finance);
- Representative of the French Embassy in Morocco;
- Representative of the German Embassy in Morocco
This twinning project is part of the implementation of the “Succeeding Advanced Status” program which is part of the partnership between Morocco and the EU and provides for the mobilization of numerous expert missions from French institutions. and Germans involved as well as several study visits by Moroccan civil servants in Europe.
