Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Plant Health Bill into law, introducing measures to combat plant pests that threaten domestic agriculture and could affect South Africa’s ability to export agricultural products.

According to South African Government News Agency, the Bill signed by the President repeals the Agricultural Pests Act of 1983, which up to now regulated the national plant health (phytosanitary) system. The new law addresses concerns about the introduction and spread of damaging pests in South Africa, which could negatively impact biosecurity, agricultural production, food security, and market access.

The Bill provides for phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction, establishment, and spread of regulated pests, safeguarding South African agriculture and plant natural resources. It includes provisions for the control of regulated pests and regulation of the movement of plants, plant products, and other regulated articles into, within, and out of the Republic.

The law aligns South Africa with the World Trade Organisation Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the International Plant Protection Convention. This compliance aims to support South Africa’s efforts to enter new markets and maintain current export markets, positively impacting the agricultural sector in terms of job creation and sustainable use of land and resources.