National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plant Pests and Animal Diseases

The National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plant Pests and Animal Diseases (Weqaa Center) is a national Saudi center located in the capital, Riyadh. It aims to implement the policies of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA) regarding the control of pests and animal diseases. This is achieved by applying preventive and curative measures to ensure the health and sustainability of plants and animals, promoting private sector participation, and unifying efforts between governmental and private entities in this field.

The center was established by a decision of the Council of Ministers on October 20, 2020. Organizationally, it is linked to the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture. It has a legal personality and enjoys an independent financial and administrative personality.

The center's board of directors is chaired by the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and includes representatives from five ministries: MEWA; the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing; the Ministry of Finance; and the Ministry of Health. It also includes the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the General Authority for Zakat, Tax, and Customs, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and three private sector members with expertise in the center's field of work are also part of the board. The government representatives must hold a rank not less than the fourteenth or its equivalent.

Membership in the center's board lasts for three years, renewable only once. Meetings are held quarterly or as needed, either at the headquarters in the capital, Riyadh, or elsewhere in the Kingdom when necessary.

The board is responsible for managing the center's affairs, according to its bylaws, which contain fifteen articles. Its responsibilities include approving strategies, plans, programs, and initiatives related to the center, agreeing with the Ministry of Finance to approve the financial, administrative, and technical regulations, and determining fees for the service providers, and the fees that the center receives for the services and licenses it provides.

The center is responsible for developing strategies and plans related to its objectives, setting rules for the qualification and licensing of service providers, and taking legal measures against service providers who violate laws or fail to meet their obligations. The center also contracts with them to provide preventive and therapeutic means for plants and animals.

In the absence of the service provider or their failure to fulfill their obligations, the center intervenes promptly to provide the necessary treatment for animal pests and diseases. The center is required to conduct regular inspections to ensure the prevention of disease outbreaks, surveillance of animal diseases, development of prevention and control techniques, establishment and maintenance of a database containing information about animal pests and diseases and their spread, updating this information, and making it available to relevant stakeholders in accordance with approved policies. The center also regulates the process of limiting the spread of animal pests and diseases and supervises it in coordination with relevant entities.

The center develops emergency plans related to animal pests and diseases and supervises their implementation. It also identifies potential animal pests and diseases and the extent of their impact and economic damage, inventorying them, updating them, and publishing them in the list of animal pests and diseases, while following up on the movements of animal pests and diseases in neighboring countries and during migration seasons, taking the necessary measures, and issuing early warnings about it.

The center provides technical and advisory services in the field of pest and animal disease control. It issues all periodic and annual reports and statistics related to pests and animal diseases after coordinating with the ministry. It organizes exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and awareness campaigns about pest and animal disease control, and signs memorandums of understanding and agreements, following the established regulatory procedures, with local government entities, non-governmental entities, companies, and institutions to benefit from the best technologies, systems, research, and studies in related fields.