Strengthening Sanitary/Phytosanitary (SPS) Capacity of Sub-Saharan Africa Through Risk Assessment Training. T. Habtemariam, R. Fite, S. Wilson, C. Bonsi, and B. Tameru; Tuskegee University, US Department of Agriculture, MD
The World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) established standards for national regulations affecting agricultural trade. Many developing countries lack resources and technical expertise to comply with the SPS Agreement, thus severely limiting their ability to participate in trade. Nowhere is this lack more acute than in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tuskegee University (TU) and USDA/APHIS have a project to strengthen Sub-Saharan Africa’s ability to comply with the requirements of the SPS Agreement. The project is supported by USAID’s Africa Trade and Investment Program (ATRIP) and will help Sub-Saharan Africa countries to liberalize trade as intended by the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Working closely with African governments and universities, we will provide workshops, mentoring and graduate study opportunities, a pan-African conference, advisory and assistance services, and much more, all focused on developing the SPS infrastructure necessary for trade. Specific objectives include: 1) strengthening SPS regulation and risk analysis in each of three main regions of Africa, 2) enhancing diagnostic laboratories and surveillance resources and linking these to international animal and plant health information systems, and 3) developing sustainable linkages between the U.S. and Africa on SPS issues. The benefits of the project include enhanced food security and stability for African countries, reduced sanitary and phytosanitary risks to Africa’s trading partners, including the United States, and stronger linkages between the USA and African countries on SPS issues of mutual concern. The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is currently implementing a one-year, USAID-funded SPS project in Africa focused on policy reform. Our project, focused on strengthening mid-level management, analytical ability, and disease surveillance, will follow, extend, and complement the FAS project.
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