By CASSEY KAYULA –
THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) says well planned and effective emergency responses are vital for managing threats to food security.
COMESA acting secretary general Kipyego Cheluget said seed borne diseases especially maize in the region was major concern as they  posed a serious threat to food security.
He was speaking during the fourth Australia-Africa Plant Bio security Partnership workshop in Lusaka yesterday.
The objective of the workshop was  to find solutions on how  to improve national and regional quarantine and plant protection capacity thereby lifting crop yields.
Other objectives were enabling safe regional trade, expanding international market access opportunities and securing greater food security for the region.
The network workshop also focused on several areas that are key to improve bio security in Africa; seed –borne diseases and emergency response, improving skills to manage seed-borne disease threats and responding to new pest incursions.
Mr Kipyego said the current outbreak of army worms across southern Africa needed fast action to minimize crop damage and that the Australia-Africa Plant Bio security partnership AAPBP had been contributing to the management of key risks such as the panama diseases and maize lethal necrosis.
He hailed the Austria Centre for International Agricultural Research ACIAR for the support provided to improve the bio security in Africa.
Austria Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR )General Manager-Global Programs Mellissa Wood said the Agriculture sector in Africa was transforming and that regional markets were also growing rapidly.
Ms Wood said individual specific plant bio security challenges for representative countries, national agencies had been identified and that they were been worked on with shared agendas to build bio security capacity and networks across the African region.
Director research, education and training of the plant biosecurity cooperation research center Jo Luck said by 2018 the company intends to train 15 PHD students in plant Biodiversity.
He said this would create a sustainable network which will assist over 10 participating countries.