The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a multilateral treaty for international cooperation in plant protection. The Convention has 182 signatories. Countries wishing to become contracting parties to the IPPC should send their instruments of accession to the Director-General of the FAO. The IPPC aims to ensure coordinated and effective action to prevent and control the introduction and spread of organisms harmful to plants and plant products. This is achieved through the development and implementation of phytosanitary policies and activities. At a national level, these activities are the responsibility of the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), which is the official service established by a government to carry out the functions specified by the IPPC. While the NPPO is responsible for phytosanitary actions, it cannot operate in isolation and must engage with other government agencies, the private sector and civil society to protect plant health.

On 19 November 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between COLEAD and the IPPC Secretariat, in the context of the implementation of the FFM SPS programme. This partnership has strengthened collaborative actions in the field of plant health to minimise the impact of plant pests and facilitate trade, development and economic growth.

Since 2021, COLEAD and IPPC have been working closely together on a regular basis to jointly develop e-learning, produce good practice guides and organise international webinars.

In August 2024 , the IPPC (FAO) entrusted COLEAD with a training initiative aimed at supporting the effective implementation of national strategies for phytosanitary capacity development resulting from the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluations (PCE) conducted under the Strengthening Food and Phytosanitary Control Capacity and Governance project. The R-SAT, as a complementary tool to the PCE, plays a central role in this initiative, enabling the preparation of project proposals that will strengthen stakeholder interaction and concerted phytosanitary action in the participating countries.

COLEAD is therefore mandated to implement a training initiative between October and December 2024, consisting of

• A face-to-face training workshop for National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPO) staff, PCE National Coordinators and PCE Facilitators, focusing on the preparation of project proposals based on the R-SAT methodology.
• Monitoring and mentoring of at least six projects developed by workshop participants.