WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/486 
21 April 2004 
 (04-1796) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
   
 
OPERATION  ON THE STANDARDS AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (STDF) 
AND WORK PLAN FOR 2004 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
1. The Standards and Trade Development Facility (S TDF) is a joint initiative of the FAO, OIE, 
World Bank, WHO and WTO.  The STDF grew out of  the Doha WTO Ministerial meeting held in 
Qatar in November 2001 at which the heads of the five organizations committed themselves to work 
together to strengthen the capacity of developing co untries in meeting SPS standards.  From this joint 
commitment, the STDF was launched in September 2002. 
2. The strategic aim of the STDF is to assist developing countries enhance their capacity to meet 
international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standa rds, improving their human health, animal health 
and phytosanitary situation, and t hus gaining and maintain market access.  In addition to facilitating 
international trade, SPS capacity building, notably in the area of food safety, can result in improved health conditions for local markets and so favour economic and social development.  
3. The STDF is both a financing and a co-ordinati ng mechanism.  Grant financing is available 
for private and public organizations in developing countries seeking to comply with international SPS 
standards and hence gain or maintain market access.   Applications are particularly encouraged from 
stakeholders in least-developed countries.  The STDF annual work programme will consist of a 
mixture of project preparation grants and projects. 
4. At the present time, the STDF is in a "start-up phase".  Seed funding of US$300,000 per year 
has been provided by the World Bank from its Development Grant Facility (DGF).  The WTO has 
also contributed CHF 100,000 from the Doha Devel opment Global Trust Fund in 2003 and 2004.  
However, the World Bank's DGF funding cannot exceed  three years and ends on 30 June 2005.  After 
that date, the Facility must attract financial co mmitments from other sources to continue.  For the 
Facility to prosper, it must be placed on a more stab le and sustainable long-term financial footing.   
5. To attract funding for the Facility and to stre ngthen the operation of the STDF, the partners 
have drafted a Business Plan.  The Business Plan expl ains in detail the organization of the Facility, its 
mechanisms and related eligibility criteria.  Once ap proved by partner agencies, this document will be 
circulated to donor agencies.  
6. To date, few proposals have been received from outside the partner institutions of the STDF.
2  
Therefore, projects undertaken have been those tabled  by the partner agencies.  This situation is not 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. 
2 Proposals have been received from Uganda, the Philippines, Cameroon and Lithuania to date.  
Unfortunately, none of the proposals met the eligibility criteria for the STDF.  However, in the case of Uganda 
and Cameroon, some of the substance of the proposals has been taken up in other project proposals. G/SPS/GEN/486 
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expected to continue.  It is envisaged that as the Facility grows, projects tabled by the partners will 
decline in number and financial importance in the overall fund. 
7. Once the Business Plan is approved the partners can be more pro-active in bringing the 
Facility to the attention of po tential applicants through:  
• the STDF Website www.standardsfacility.org (now available in English, French and 
Spanish language versions); 
• information provided to Geneva-based missi ons and national expe rts through the SPS 
Committee;  and 
• input in regular technical assistance activities of the partners (e.g. such as WTO 
regional workshops and national seminars a nd equivalent activities of other partner 
agencies). 
 8. As of April 2004, financing of approximatel y US$380,000 was available for projects between 
1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005.  Gr owth in the number and nature of activities undertaken depends on 
the level of financing provided by donors.   
9. Two key areas stand out as priority areas for future activities.  
Building on needs identified in the Integrated Framework and JITAP processes 
10. Various needs in the SPS field have been iden tified through the Integrated Framework and 
JITAP needs assessment exercises.  It is envisaged  that needs identified by countries could be 
developed into projects.  For example, in the Inte grated Framework action matrices of several African 
countries a number of activities have been identified in  the animal health sector such as recognition of 
disease freedom, improvement of information on the livestock sector both for disease control and commercial operators and penetration of export mark ets in neighbouring countries.  It is envisaged 
that such needs could be address ed either through the development of projects using the project 
preparation grant or through project proposals from partner organizations.   
Utilising SPS capacity evaluation and planning 
11. Capacity evaluation tools have been developed in the plant health area by IPPC and in the 
food safety area by Codex and are in development, through STDF funding, for the animal health sector by OIE.  In addition, an overarching methodolog y designed to look at the cost-benefit  analysis 
of different interventions is bei ng developed by a project to be funded as part of the 2004 work plan.  
It is envisaged that these tools could be applied to countries in need of such evaluation methodologies 
(identified by responses to the WTO technical as sistance questionnaire).  Application of these 
participatory methodologies would also have the ef fect of identifying future projects for possible 
funding through the STDF.   
2004 WORK PLAN 
 
12. Activities to be funded as part of the STDF work  plan for 2004 can be separated into new 
activities approved by the Working Group in th e first quarter of 2004 and on-going activities 
approved in 2003.  Further activities may be added to  the work plan after the Working Group meeting 
scheduled for the second half of 2004.  G/SPS/GEN/486 
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A. NEW ACTIVITIES  
STDF 19:  Model arrangements for SPS stakeho lder involvement at the national level 
13. The goal of this project is to improve SPS-re lated information flow as well as information 
sharing between the public and private sectors with  positive spin-offs for market access.  The wider 
objective of this project is to improve the capacity of stakeholders in the public and private sectors of 
developing countries to work in an international trading system that applies demanding standards in 
the area of food safety and animal and plant health .  This improvement in institutional capacity should 
then translate into an improvement in export perfo rmance.  The project will be organized in three 
stages. 
14. Stage 1 will be the establishment of the project  organization structure including the working 
framework and operational mechanisms to develop and strengthen links between stakeholders in two 
case study countries.  This stage will also include a literature review  of examples of best practice of 
SPS co-ordination activities and an assessment of th e current practices for SPS co-ordination and 
technical capacities in the study countries. 
15. Stage 2 will facilitate the formation or strengt hening of an SPS coordination group within 
each country.  Different stakeholders in SPS activ ities (identified and interviewed during the first 
stage) will be invited to form a national SPS co-ord inating body.  Special attention will be paid to 
develop consultative structures that involve private sector stakeholders.   
16. In Stage 3, the parameters for best practice in co-ordinating SPS activities will be reassessed 
based on the experience gained and a final project report produced.   
STDF 20:  Country-based plans for SPS-related development 
17. The goal of the project is to facilitate sanita ry and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity building in 
both the private and public sectors. The goal will be achieved by making available a planning methodology responsive to economic objectives a nd which encourages a cooperative relationship 
between donors and private and public sector stakeholders in recipient countries.  The project will 
demonstrate in selected countries an integrated  approach to planning and executing SPS capacity-
building, with special emphasis on enhancement of export market access for agricultural, food, 
fishery, horticulture and forest products of deve loping economies.  The project will be organized in 
four stages. 
18. In Stage 1, a methodology will be developed fo r evaluating SPS capacity at national level.  
The methodology will identify key economic sectors (e .g. livestock, arable, food processing, fisheries, 
forestry), look at private/public interaction releva nt for these sectors, study the state of SPS legislation 
and enforcement and draw conclusions on the SPS capacity of the country in both the public and 
private sector.  The methodology will build on exis ting IPPC, Codex and OIE tools as well as those 
developed by other relevant organi zations (e.g. IICA) to produce a single generic planning tool.  One 
essential element of the methodology will be a cost-ben efit analysis framework to gauge the impact of 
different resource allocation decisions.  A key parame ter will be the ability of the sectors selected to 
maintain or expand export market access.   
19. In Stage 2, the methodology will be applied in  two pilot countries chosen on the basis of 
technical assistance questionnaires submitted to th e WTO and requests made for project funding 
under the STDF.  The methodology will be applied w ith a participatory approach pulling in expertise 
from the public and private sectors.  The results of  the methodology will then be used to report on 
SPS capacity and develop an action plan for each country.   
20. Stage 3 will mobilise resources for the national action plans.  The plans will make use of 
national budget resources and identify where inte rnational donor support is necessary.  Once G/SPS/GEN/486 
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completed, these reports will be presented by the na tional authorities to donors, both in-country and in 
other appropriate venues.   
21. In the fourth and final stage, the consultant will revise the methodology in the light of the 
experience gained during the project, and prepare a guidance document to facilitate the use of the 
methodology in other developing countries.   
STDF 9:  Model Programme for Developing Food Standards within a Risk Analysis Framework 
22. This project aims to increase the capacity of low income countries to use risk analysis 
techniques to develop their own food standards; to  participate in the Codex standard-setting process; 
and to understand and comply with, in the developm ent of these standards, international obligations 
under the relevant WTO agreements.  This project will provide a model for implementation of this 
programme in other regions of the world.  The project will be organized around the following four 
activities: 
• preliminary survey of needs of participating countries; 
 
• development of a training programme  b ased on the results of the needs assessment 
and covering such topics as risk analysis, risk management, practical case studies, legal framework for standards, identificati on of stakeholders, drafting of standards, 
assessment of regulatory impact; 
 
• delivery of training programme;  and 
 
• survey and evaluation of the course and its results 6 months after the conclusion of 
the training course. 
 
23. The project will be partly funded by the STDF and partly funded from FAO sources. 
STDF 10:  International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health project 
24. This project builds on existing work by the F AO on the International Portal on Food Safety, 
Animal and Plant Health.  The portal is a powerfu l source of information on international standards 
and of national legislation and regul ations on food safety, animal and plant health.  The aim of this 
project is to:  
• extend the country coverage of the Portal on a pilot basis to one least-developed 
country and one middle income developing country; 
 
• develop a portal implementation handbook to  assist countries in the establishment of 
a national internet-based site for the exchange  of official legislation and regulations 
on food safety, animal and plant health;  and 
 
• assist countries meet their transparency  obligations under the SPS Agreement by 
ensuring that legislation in force is "availab le in such a manner as to allow interested 
Members to become acquainted with them".  Portal links in each country will be 
maintained by the SPS Enquiry Point. 
 25. The project will be partly funded by the STDF and partly funded from FAO sources.   G/SPS/GEN/486 
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STDF 15:  Expanding SPS Capacities at National and Regional Levels 
26. The aim of this project is to promote greater  co-ordination at regional level between the 
partners both in regular activities and in the deliver y of technical assistance.  To date, the STDF has 
focused on improved co-operation between staff at S ecretariat level.  The objective of this pilot 
project is to duplicate this enhanced co-operation also in the regions through training for the OIE's 
regional representation offices.  If successful, the project  would be repeated for the regional offices of 
other partner agencies.  Expected benefits include: 
• creation of regional inter-partner networks for information dissemination and training; 
 
• greater understanding of inter-agency ro les in animal disease and zoonoses 
emergency situations, allied to st ructured consultation procedures; 
 
• improved technical capacity to deliver assist ance on the part of partner organizations, 
in particular OIE;  and 
 
• avoidance of duplication in projects and or production of training materials by 
partners. 
 
B. ON GOING  ACTIVITIES  STARTED  IN 2003 
STDF website 
27. A website for the  STDF  has been established at www.standardsfacility.org .  In addition to 
information on the STDF and how to apply, each of th e partner organizations has made available their 
training materials on SPS-related standards.   Further materials will be added in 2004 as part of the co-
ordination function of the STDF.  Furthermore, the we bsite is also being made available in French and 
Spanish language versions. 
STDF 5:  STDF Database 
28. In the final quarter of 2003, a database on SPS technical assistance was established.  The 
objective of the database is to provide an overv iew of planned and deliver ed SPS-related technical 
assistance; to assist coordination between the partner institutions of the STDF; to enable information 
sharing between institutions thereby creating opportun ities to identify gaps and exploit synergies; and 
to minimize and/or avoid duplication in the provision of technical assistance.  
29. The database is an on-going ac tivity and at present the period of  coverage is 2001 to 2003.  
Data on technical assistance activities in the SPS ar ea is reported from the five partner institutions, 
multilateral agencies, regional a nd bilateral donors and harvested from the existing WTO/OECD 
Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity Build ing database.  In April and in the final quarter 
of 2004, further data collections  are planned.  These data collection exercises should yield further 
useful information on trends in technical assistance in  this area.   The database can be consulted at 
http://stdfdb.wto.org.  A search of the database can be performed by one of four STDF categories 
(food safety, plant health, animal health and a ge neral category) or by beneficiary country, donor 
country or agency. 
STDF 14:  OIE veterinary capacity evaluation project 
30. Capacity evaluation tools exist in the plant and food safety areas, but not in the area of animal 
health.  As such, the STDF funded a project proposal  from OIE to develop such a veterinary capacity 
evaluation tool.  The project aims to develop a specific diagnostic tool capable of evaluating the capacity of national veterinary services to meet inte rnational zoosanitary obligations in an efficient 
and sustainable manner.  The instrument will measure capacities of various countries through an G/SPS/GEN/486 
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inventory of the functions and resources available to  comply with zoosanitary obligations according to 
the OIE standards.  The instrument will be refine d in co-ordination with OIE regional offices in the 
Americas and Africa.  Once complete it is expected  that the self-diagnostic tool will assist developing 
countries to prepare internal and external grant applications for projects on technical and administrative infrastructure improvements. 
 
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