As of December 2021, there are 40 plant nurseries participating in the Plant Pass scheme with 10 being certified. NZPPI looks forward to supporting other nurseries as they register with Plant Pass in 2022
Plant Pass is a voluntary certification scheme that recognises plant producers with good biosecurity standards and helps them improve their practice by identifying, controlling, managing and avoiding biosecurity hazards. The scheme is designed to protect producers and plant buyers in our domestic and export fruit and vegetable sectors, vineyard, forestry, amenity and garden, built and natural environment markets. It helps lessen the likelihood of a high-risk organism establishing in a nursery and being inadvertently spread by the domestic plant trade.
Plant Pass is essentially one-stop shop for all biosecurity requirements to meet growing expectations of plant buyers and regulators. These expectations come as plant buyers sign up to the Plant Buyers’ Accord and the Government introduces a Kauri Dieback Pest Management Plan and proposes a Myrtle Rust Long Term Management Plan.
Biosecurity NZ is the first agency to sign up to the Accord and other plant buyers will sign up in the new year. By signing the Accord, plant buyers demonstrate that they will not accept conduct or culture that undermines good biosecurity practice or undermines Plant Pass. Signing the Accord also demonstrates plant buyers’ commitment to Ko Tātou This Is Us.
Read more and register with Plant Pass at www.plantpass.org.nz.