Final report of a mission carried out in Portugal from 28 01 2002 to 1  02 2002 in order to audit the
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Final report of a mission carried out in Portugal from 28 01 2002 to 1 02 2002 in order to audit the

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EUROPEAN COMMISSIONHEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERALDirectorate F - Food and Veterinary OfficeDG(SANCO)/8501/2002 – MR FINALFINAL REPORT OF A MISSIONCARRIED OUT IN PORTUGALFROM 28/01/2002 TO 1/02/2002IN ORDER TO AUDIT THE PLANT HEALTH SYSTEMIN THE POTATO SECTOR"Please note that factual errors in the draft report have been corrected in bold, italic,type. Clarifications provided by the Portuguese Authorities are given as footnotes, inbold, italic, type, to the relevant part of the report".27/09/02 - 41280TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................52. MISSION DETAILS ...................................................................................................53. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION..............................................................................54. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION.........................................................................65. BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................65.1. Previous mission to Portugal concerning potatoes ............................................65.2. Importance of the potato production in Portugal ...............................................65.3. Potato trade in Portugal......................................................................................76. MAIN FINDINGS .............................. ...

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Directorate F - Food and Veterinary Office
DG(SANCO)/8501/2002 – MR FINAL
FINAL REPORT OF A MISSION CARRIED OUT IN PORTUGAL FROM 28/01/2002 TO 1/02/2002 IN ORDER TO AUDIT THE PLANT HEALTH SYSTEM IN THE POTATO SECTOR
"Please note that factual errors in the draft report have been corrected in bold, italic, type. Clarifications provided by the Portuguese Authorities are given as footnotes, in bold, italic, type, to the relevant part of the report".
27/09/02 - 41280
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................5
MISSION DETAILS ...................................................................................................5
OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION..............................................................................5
LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION .........................................................................6
BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................6 5.1. Previous mission to Portugal concerning potatoes ............................................6 5.2. Importance of the potato production in Portugal ...............................................6 5.3. Potato trade in Portugal......................................................................................7
MAIN FINDINGS .......................................................................................................7 6.1. Plant health system in Portugal..........................................................................7 6.1.1. Structure of the plant health system in the potato sector .....................7 6.1.2. Human and financial resources ............................................................9 6.1.3. Work planning and assessment of the institution’s work ....................9 6.1.4. Transposition of legislation................................................................10 6.1.5. Contingency plan ...............................................................................10 6.2. Seed potatoes in Portugal.................................................................................10 6.2.1. Potato breeding and certification .......................................................10 6.2.2. Plant health in the multiplication of seeds .........................................12 6.3. Potatoes other than seeds in Portugal ..............................................................14 6.3.1. Production methods for potatoes in Portugal.....................................14 6.3.2. General organisation of plant health surveys.....................................15 6.3.3. Situation of specific quarantine pests ................................................15 6.3.4. Marketing and processing of potatoes other than seeds.....................18 6.3.5. Inspections of imported potatoes and potatoes introduced from other Member States .................................................................19 6.4. Laboratories for quarantine diseases of potato ................................................19 6.4.1. DGPC laboratories .............................................................................20
CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................23 7.1. Plant health system in Portugal........................................................................23 7.2. Seed potatoes ...................................................................................................23 2
7.3. Potatoes other than seeds .................................................................................24 7.4. Laboratory analyses .........................................................................................24
8. OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................................24
9. CLOSING MEETING ...............................................................................................25
10. RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................25 To the competent authorities of Portugal...................................................................25
ABBREVIATIONS & SPECIAL TERMS USED IN THE REPORT DCF Divisão de Controlo Fitossanitário (Plant health control division) DGPC Direcção-Geral de Protecção das Culturas (Directorate-General for Plant Protection) DIBP Divisão de Identificação e Bioecologia de Patógeneos (Division for the identification and bioecology of pathogens of DGPC) DIF Divisão de Inspecção Fitossanitaria (plant health inspection division) DPMP Divisão de Pragas e Meios de Protecção (Division for contagious diseases and protection measures of DGPC) DRA Direcções Regionais de Agricultura (Regional Agriculture Directorates) DSIA Direcção de Serviços de Investigação Agrícola da Madeira (Agricultural Research Services Directorate, Madeira) DSF Divisão (Plant health services directorate) DSPC Direcção de Serviços de Protecção das Culturas dos Açores (Plant Protection Services Directorate, Azores) EDM Entre-Douro e Minho TM Trás-os-Montes BL Beira Litoral BI Beira Interior RO Ribatejo e Oeste EU European Union FVO Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission IF Immunofluorescence INE Instituto Nacional de Estatistica (National Statistical Institute) MADRP Ministério da Agricultura do Desenvolvimento Rural e das Pescas (Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries) n.a. Not available PCN Potato cyst nematode PLRV Potato leaf roll virus PVA Potato virus A PVM Potato virus M PVS Potato virus S PVX Potato virus X PVY Potato virus Y PWN Pine Wood Nematode
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t
metric tons
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1. INTRODUCTION The mission to Portugal was the 14th of a series of inspections to all Member States to audit the plant health system in the potato sector. A pre-mission questionnaire was sent to the Portuguese plant protection authorities in advance of the mission. The answers to this questionnaire provided an overview of the plant health system in the potato sector and of the general health status of the potato production in Portugal.
2. MISSION DETAILS The mission took place in Portugal from 28 January to 1 February 2002. The mission team comprised 3 inspectors from the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission (FVO) and 2 Member State experts. The mission was undertaken as part of the FVO’s planned mission programme. Representatives from the Portuguese plant protection service accompanied the inspection team during the whole mission. An opening meeting was held on 28 February 2002 in Oeiras with the central competent authority (Direcção-Geral de Protecção das Culturas - DGPC). At this meetin , the ob ectives of, and itinerar for, the mission were confirmed b the inspection team. A closing meeting with the central competent authority was held in Lisbon on 1 February 2002. The following sites were visited: COMPETENT AUTHORITY VISITS Competent authority Central office Regional offices Experimental station LABORATORY VISITS Central laboratory Regional laboratory PLANT HEALTH CONTROL SITES Potato growers Tomato growers Co-operative/packing station Potato packing/despatch stations Chips factory Official landfill site Common seed potato storage 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION The objectives of the mission were to assess (1) the performance of the various bodies involved in the national plant health system with reference to the potato sector, and (2) of the relevant EU legislation in this area.the implementation
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Mainland Azores 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 1
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4. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION The mission was carried out under the mandate of Article 21 of Council Directive 2000/29/EC1 relevant technical provisions of this Directive. In addition, the and following legislation was of particular relevance for this mission: – Council Directive 69/464/EEC2on the control of potato wart disease, – Council Directive 69/465/EEC3on the control of potato cyst eelworm, – Council Directive 93/85/EEC4on the control of potato ring rot, – Council Directive 98/57/EC5on the control of potato brown rot, – Commission Directive 93/50/EEC6on the registration of producers, warehouses and dispatching centres.
5. BACKGROUND Regarding statistical data in this and following chapters: If no reference is given in the text, the figures were provided by the Portuguese authorities (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica – INE and DGPC) in the pre-mission questionnaire or during the mission. 5.1. Previous mission to Portugal concerning potatoes There have been five potato-related missions in Portugal during the last 8 years. No major deficiencies in the control systems were discovered during the first 4 missions. However, in the last mission carried out in 1998 regarding imports of Canadian seed potatoes, a non-compliance was recorded. In particular the separation of lots could not be verified during the unloading in Portugal. This prevented an effective trace back in case of outbreaks. In addition a discrepancy between announced and delivered number of bags was noticed. It was thus recommended to ensure that lots be clearly separated during unloading. 5.2. Importance of the potato production in Portugal Between 1998 and 2000, the potato production (seed and ware) decreased fromca. 1,225,000 tons to around 741,000 tons. In 2000, the cultivated surface was slightly less than 58,000 ha. On this area, 740,000 t of ware potatoes and 558 t of seed potatoes were produced. The national average yield was thus respectively about 13 t/ha for ware and 7 t/ha for seed potatoes. It should be highlighted that, in 2000, the production of seed potatoes was concentrated on a total surface of only 71.93 ha. The main regions for seed production are Trás-os-Montes and the Azores (island of São Miguel). Potatoes other than seeds are grown mainly in the following regions: Ribatejo e Oeste, Beira Litoral, Entre Douro e Minho and Trás-os-Montes.
                                                1 No. L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1 OJ 2OJ No. L 323, 24.12.1969, p. 1 3OJ No. L 323, 24.12.1969, p. 3 4OJ No. L 259, 18.10.1993, p. 1 5OJ No. L 235, 21.8.1998, p. 1 6OJ No. L 205, 17.8.1993, p. 22
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5.3. Potato trade in Portugal Portugal’s main trading partners are the other EU Member States. The imports and exports figures are summarised in the table below. Table No 1: Portugal’s potato trade between 1998 and 2000 (tons) 1998 1999 2000 Seed Other than Seed Other than Seed Other than seed seed seed Introduction from EU 72,149. 197,180. 62,089. 126,034. 47,115. 193,476. Imports from non EU 2,137 40 2,600. 117.1 310.2 794.7 “Exports” to EU 1,076 13,556. 1,049. 19,260 1,290. 13,101. Exports to non EU 1 1,504. 58.5 4,710. 71 1,356. Seed potatoes are mainly introduced from the Netherlands (57-65%), followed by Denmark (10-12%). Small quantities are also imported from Canada, under derogation, and from Switzerland. Potatoes other than seeds come mostly from Spain (35-50%) and from France (30-45%). Few quantities of potatoes from Morocco are also imported every year.
6. MAIN FINDINGS 6.1. Plant health system in Portugal 6.1.1. health system in the potato sectorStructure of the plant Central level: TheDirecção-Geral de Protecção das Culturas (DGPC) has been designated as the single and central authority for plant health under Article 1(4) of Council Directive 2000/29/EC. The DGPC belongs to the State Secretary for Agriculture of the Ministry for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (MADRP). It represents Portugal at international level in the field of plant protection and is responsible for crop protection policy at national level in close cooperation with the regional services. Within its Plant Health Services Directorate (DSF), three divisions deal with potato quarantine organisms: plant health inspection division (DIF), division for the identification and bioecology of pathogens (DIBP) and division for contagious diseases and protection methods (DPMP). The DIF is mainly charged with the transposition of legislation and the technical co-ordination of the regional services, preparing instructions to the field inspectors and to the laboratories, planning sampling and analysis activities for quarantine pests and staff training. Regional level: In mainland Portugal, plant health responsibilities at regional level are held by theDirecções Regionais de Agricultura (DRA) and in 7
particular theirDivisões do Controlo Fitossanitário(DCF). There are 7 such DRAs. In the autonomous regions, the Direcção de Serviços de Protecção das Culturas (DSPC) and theDirecção de Serviços de Investigação Agrícola (DSIA), respectively in the Azores and Madeira, deal with plant health. DCFs/DSPC/DSIA implement plant health legislation in their respective regions, in accordance with instructions from the DGPC. They carry out the following activities in the plant quarantine sector: import-export certification, internal market controls, surveillance of the territory and diagnostics. DRAs are administratively responsible to the State Secretary for Rural Development of MADRP while DSPC and DSIA are administratively and politically autonomous. As a consequence, there is not a direct hierarchical link between the DGPC and the regional plant protection services, but an operational one. However, the DGPC’s coordination role vis-à-vis the DRAs (but not vis-à-vis DSPC and DSIA) has been legally defined by a Portuguese domestic law. Communication between central and regional levels The DGPC receives information from the Member States (e.g. EU documents) and sends it further to the regional services. The DCFs report regularly (monthly) or occasionally to the DGPC on around 60% of their activities (routine inspections, outbreaks, import data, etc). At the DRAs/DCFs the inspection reports are not standardised and formalised. An official meeting is organised at the beginning of every year with the DGPC and the Heads of DCFs, DSPC and DSIA. One of its aims is to evaluate the work carried out in the previous year and the results obtained. Furthermore, the DGPC discusses and gives instructions as to the number of inspections to be performed and minimum number and type of samples to be collected for each harmful organism and per region for the coming year. Specific official meetings can be organised by the DGPC in case of failure of the control system or to better harmonise the sampling activities among the regional services. In addition, the DGPC and the regions hold informal bilateral meetings twice a month. The inspection team was informed that the DGPC does not have the power to impose the decisions directly onto the regions if a disagreement should arise between central and regional services. An informal settlement would be attempted first, followed by a formal procedure with the Minister of Agriculture if necessary. There have not been such cases up to now.
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6.1.2. Human and financial resources Human resources Table No. 2: Number of inspectors per region Re ional service Nº of ins ectors % of time devoted to inspection activities DCF EDM 8 80 DCF TM 4 60 DCF BL 7 60 DCF BI 4 60 DCF RO 9 80 DCF Alent 5 60 DCF Alg 3 80 DSPC Açores 21 80 DSIA Madeira 3 80 TOTAL 64
Inspectors are civil servants employed on a permanent basis. Around half of them are university graduates in agronomy, the rest having secondary education. The DGPC organises training for plant health inspectors. The inspection team was not shown any planning for this activity. All new inspectors undergo an initial technical training course of one week. Refresher courses are offered every 3 to 4 years. The subjects include legislation, procedures, sampling activities, updates on quarantine organisms. In addition, computer as well as management training is available for all staff. There is no inspector’s handbook or manual as such. Instead, specific instructions are drafted by the DGPC according to the type of inspections or harmful organism (e.g. control plan againstRalstonia solanacearum). Financial resources Most of the funding comes from the State budget (75%). The departments also receive income by providing services to growers (inspections, laboratory analysis, registration, etc.) (20%) and from research projects and experiments (5%). Resources are allocated according to the annual planning of inspections and surveys; difficulties could arise if new harmful organisms appeared. The budget would have to be reallocated according to the new priority or additional funding could be requested from the Government. 6.1.3.  k ’Work planning and assessment of the instituti on s wor The DGPC establishes an annual work programme in coordination with the regions (see chapter 6.1.1). Objectives are reviewed at least once a year and corrections made if necessary (e.g. in the case ofRalstonia solanacearum outbreaks the inspection programme was intensified). 9
6.2. 
There is no formal audit of the DGPC’s technical work. The DGPC controls the work of the inspectors directly by taking part in the inspections on the spot (one local service visited at least once a week) as well as indirectly by assessing the reports prepared by the regions. 6.1.4. Transposition of legislation The DGPC is in charge of transposition. This is carried out by the DIF together with the DGPC’s legal service. The draft text is sent to MADRP’s legal service for a last check. The final text is signed either by the Minister of Agriculture (Portaria = Ministerial decree) or by the Prime Minister (Decree-Law). During the drafting process, consultation with interested parties, such as growers’ associations, occurs when necessary, and on an informal basis. In the past, all EU Directives and Decisions were transposed as Portaria. Nowadays, Directives are transposed as Decree-Laws while Decisions are still transposed as Ministerial Decrees or not transposed when they are not relevant for Portugal. After signature, the legislative act is published in the Diário da República. The average time to transpose a Directive is 3-4 months from the first day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 6.1.5. Contingency plan There is no contingency plan for handling outbreaks of quarantine organisms. The approach followed is mainly on an ad-hoc basis and targeted to the possibly affected crops rather than to specific pests. In the event of an emergency, the DGPC would announce extraordinary measures in conjunction with the regional services, based on existing resources. Seed potatoes in Portugal 6.2.1. Potato breeding and certification There are no gene banks or potato variety collections in Portugal. Seed multiplication is carried out in two main areas: mainland Portugal (Tràs-os-Montes) and the Azores. In 2001, there were around 50 seed potato growers supplying their crop to a total of 7 “producers” (most of them being cooperatives). Only producers are registered for plant health purposes. The certification scheme is summarised in the chart below.
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Portuguese seed classification pathway (source: DGPC)
Starting material (mother tuber)
Minitubers
Pre-Basic/S Basic/SE Basic/EC1 Basic/E Basic/EC2 Certified/A or B Basic/EC3
Generation F0
F1
F2 F3 F4 F5
WareWare Scheme according to Scheme according to  Dir. 66/403/EC7 Dir. 93/17/EC8 (Community grades) - Only in Azores The Azores (above 300 m altitude) have been recognised as “high grade seed area” by Commission Decision 95/21/EC9, amending Commission Decision 93/231/EEC10. Only seed potatoes of Community grades of the basic categories can be marketed there. Potatoes from the full scheme used to be produced in the Azores. Since the company producing mini-tubers has closed its business (2001), seed producers use imported pre-basic material for production of basic seeds. In the Azores, nearly 100% of EC1 grade basic seed potatoes are certified as EC2 grade, of which 80% are then sent to mainland Portugal for multiplication as certified seed and 20% are multiplied in the Azores for certification as EC3 grade. Portuguese growers multiply only three varieties: Desirée, Kennebec and Maris Peer. The quantity of potatoes presented for certification has been continuously decreasing for a number of years. Thus, in 1997, 280 lots of the domestic                                                 7OJ No. P125, 11.07.1966, p.2320-2326, 8OJ No. L106, 30.04.1993, p 7-10 9 OJ No. L28, 7.2.95, p. 13 10OJ No. L106, 30.4.1993, p. 11-13
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