Within the project “Further strengthening of the capacities of the phytosanitary services”, funded by the European Union through the Twinning instrument and implemented by an Italian partnership led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (MASAF), with the support of Informest as Junior Partner, activities aimed at strengthening North Macedonia’s phytosanitary system are continuing.

When speaking about Twinning projects, attention is often focused on support for legislative alignment and the transposition of the European Union acquis. In reality, an equally important component concerns the transfer of technical skills directly in the field.

Alongside activities aimed at aligning the legislative framework with European standards, the project includes technical missions, specialised training and operational mentoring between European experts and beneficiary institutions.

In recent months, for example, monitoring activities have been carried out through the use of pheromone traps for mapping harmful insects present in the territory. At the same time, Italian experts and Macedonian counterparts have worked together to deepen knowledge of some of the main harmful organisms affecting crops and to identify the most effective strategies for preventing and limiting their spread.

Among the cases addressed during recent technical activities is Capnodis tenebrionis, an insect particularly harmful to fruit tree species such as apricot, plum and cherry. The missions made it possible to improve recognition of infestation symptoms, from the characteristic damage to young shoots and leaves to the more serious injuries caused by larvae to the root system, which can seriously compromise plant functionality and encourage the development of additional diseases.

The activities also enabled the sharing of experiences and solutions adopted in European Union countries for monitoring and controlling the insect, highlighting the importance of an integrated approach combining agronomic practices, irrigation management, prompt removal of compromised plants and biological control tools, such as the use of entomopathogenic nematodes and other low environmental impact methods.

This joint work demonstrates how the Twinning project is not only an instrument for legislative harmonisation but also an important opportunity for technical cooperation and operational transfer of expertise. It is a process that accompanies regulatory reforms with concrete activities on the ground, helping to strengthen the capacity of beneficiary institutions to prevent and manage phytosanitary threats and improve the protection of agricultural production.

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