Agroaldea[quote]The appearance of a new and dangerous bacteria in Italian agriculture triggers alarms in the EU.[/quote]
IMPORTS FROM THIRD COUNTRIES ARE BEHIND THIS NEW PATHOLOGY.
The detection in the Italian province of Lecce of two outbreaks of a new and dangerous bacteria in olive groves, almendro, oleander and ornamental plant has triggered all the alarms in the European Union.Like this, The Community Executive has already adopted the decision to prohibit the circulation of plant material from the aforementioned Italian territory in order to avoid a possible spread of this harmful organism whose presence was not known in Europe.
All indications point to, Once again, agricultural imports from third countries are behind the entry into European agriculture of a new pathology.
This bacterium detected in Italy responds to the name of Xanthomonas. It mainly attacks woody crops, among them, citrus, the vineyard, the almond tree, fruit trees of all kinds, ornamental plants or olive trees.
The pathogenesis transmitted by this organism is materialized in a rapid decay of leaves and branches, which are affected by symptoms of dryness and general deterioration., which can even cause severe damage to the tree itself.
The main route of propagation of Xanthomonas is the plant material destined for plantation, while the main phytosanitary control measure is based on, precisely, in maximizing the control over the trade of this plant material, since once a focus of this bacterium appears, chemical treatments are usually not effective and, reached that extreme, the only possible solution is to remove the trees and surrounding wild vegetation that can host this organism.
In addition, in your official notification, the Commission itself warns that “given its nature it is likely to spread rapidly and widely”.
To try to avoid it, The Community Executive has ordered the Member States to carry out annual inspections to detect the possible presence of the Fastidiosa bacteria in the plant products of their respective territories and to communicate the results of these inspections.
“We're, Therefore, due to the presence in Italy of a new and dangerous bacteria - laments the president of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA), Cristóbal Aguado-. This is a very unfortunate circumstance that clearly demonstrates that our repeated complaints about the serious risks posed by agricultural imports from third countries under the lax and irresponsible conditions with which EU controls are currently being carried out are more than justified”.
Precisely, The head of AVA-ASAJA points out that the European Commission is currently immersed in the development of a new regulation on plant health that will establish the bases that should govern in the coming years the surveillance of plant products from other latitudes that enter the European market.
“The Commission has before it, Therefore, a magnificent opportunity - highlights Aguado- to apply rigorous criteria in the control of these imports in order to safeguard the plant health of our agriculture.
However, the draft of this new legislation does not satisfy our demands at all because it does not explicitly include inspections in the countries of origin, nor does it specifically contemplate border closures for cases of repeated non-compliance, as has happened in the recent case of South Africa., Nor does it foresee establishing protocols for action in this matter, such as those that we are obliged to comply with when we send our fruits to countries as solvent as the United States or Japan.. It is time for the example to spread and for the European Commission to rectify once and for all”.