History of agricultural quarantine and OIRSA
The term 'Quarantine' originated in the 14th century, when vessels were detained for forty days to ensure that the crew was not infected due to bubonic plague, cholera, and yellow fever outbreaks.
The current definition of "Agricultural Quarantine" is to apply legal restrictions on the movement of goods with the purpose of preventing or delaying the introduction and establishment of pests and diseases that do not exist in an area, country, region, or continent but if they do exist, they are under official control.
OIRSA, from its origins and in addition to combating specific pests such as the flying locust and the coffee borer, has had the challenge of strengthening the national quarantine services of its member countries. Thus, in its early years, with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it laid the groundwork for legal frameworks in agricultural and livestock quarantine, allowing, among other things, the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures at entry points based on a legal platform consistent with the reality of the time.
This process has continued over the years, resulting in countries now having updated legislation in line with the international legal framework emanating from international reference organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Codex Alimentarius, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
Improving the necessary infrastructure for conducting effective merchandise inspections at ports, airports, and land borders has been another task that OIRSA has undertaken hand in hand with the Ministries and Secretariats of Agriculture and Livestock of each country, supporting initiatives to obtain resources that have allowed for the modernization of inspection service facilities over the years.
Incorporating new technologies in phytosanitary diagnosis as a basic tool for implementing correct measures to prevent the introduction of pests to the region has also been part of the challenges the Organization has set for itself. Nowadays, the region has Digital Distance Diagnosis with Images (DDDI) technology, a project developed with the University of Georgia, which allows for the diagnosis of intercepted pests at borders using high-quality digital images sent to taxonomic specialists for diagnosis in very short periods, facilitating trade and reducing the risk of entry of quarantine pests.
The Ministries and Secretariats of Agriculture and Livestock, together with OIRSA, have worked on strengthening risk analysis as a fundamental basis for decision-making in the implementation of measures at entry points. To this end, they have been provided with modern databases necessary for conducting the analysis, while professionals have been trained to successfully carry out this work in the countries, thus contributing to the facilitation of regional trade based on the scientific assessment of the risks it may pose to agricultural health and consumer health.
The need to facilitate trade with the minimum risk of pest spread was the condition that gave rise to one of OIRSA's most significant efforts and those of its member countries: the establishment of the Servicio Internacional de Fumigación (SIF)), which, over time transformed into the Servicio Internacional de Tratamientos Cuarentenarios(SITC), whose existence in different countries has strengthened the region's first line of health defense, preventing the arrival of quarantine pests and the spread of economically important pests among countries. Currently, the SITC is undergoing a process of modernization and technological innovation in response to the need to protect the region's agricultural heritage with minimal environmental impact and risk to its employees.
Six decades have passed since the creation of the Organization, and with them, the delegation of quarantine services by the countries to OIRSA, which translates into a show of confidence and a success story for the Organization, which currently administers and operates the National Agricultural Protection Service (SEPA) in Guatemala and Honduras. These countries have been provided, in a relatively short time, with high-tech diagnostic equipment, with the purpose of having the capacity to intercept pests through inspections in means of transportation (vehicles, aircraft, and ships).
Today, despite the new and complex challenges worldwide, OIRSA, with its rich and vast accumulated experience, as well as new technologies and cutting-edge methods, reaffirms its commitment to support the efforts of its member countries in protecting the regional agricultural heritage, as well as the health and food safety of its peoples, through the strengthening and modernization of national quarantine services as the first line of defense for agricultural health.
