Twenty Second seminar of the new Xylella Seminar Series jointly organised by the EU funded Bexyl project, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) and Auburn University.  Rob Tanner, from the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO),  gave a presentation titled Being prepared for Xylella fastidiosa: training through contingency planning.  

Rob Tanner is a Senior Scientific Officer at EPPO.  In May 2025, EPPO and the Near East Plant Protection Organization (NEPPO) conducted a contingency exercise workshop in collaboration with the BeXyl project, EFSA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It was hosted in Tunisia and attended by 72 participants, including experts from National Plant Protection Organizations, plant health scientists, policy officials, inspectors, quarantine officers, pest control specialists, and other experts from 21 countries. This presentation will outline the need for contingency exercises, the objectives of the Workshop and the training methods used.