. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/376
25 March 2003
(03-1706)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English/
Spanish
ACTIONS AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING THE WTO AGREEMENT ON
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Information presented by the Inter-American Institute
for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
1. The observer organizations of the SPS Committee are invited to present reports on the
activities they have carried out to promote the understanding and implementation of the SPS
Agreement.  The following is a description of some initiatives implemented or planned for this
purpose.
Support for the active participation of the countries of the Americas in the SPS Committee
2. In tandem with the US Department of Agricu lture (USDA), IICA is implementing the second
stage of the "Program to Support the Active Particip ation of Latin American and Caribbean countries
in the WTO SPS Committee".  As was the case during the first stage, carried out in November 2002,
the two agencies facilitated the participation of 64 experts from the capitals of 32 countries in SPSCommittee meetings.  With the WTO’s participation and assistance, a seminar was also held to
improve the capacity of countries in various aspects of international meetings.  The objective of this
effort is to foster dialogue on the topic within the member countries and encourage them to play a
more active role in the SPS Committee.
Activities implemented in the Caribbean
3. In May, IICA will be presenting a status report on the proposal for the creation of the
Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Sa fety Agency (CAHFSA) to both the Council on
Development and Trade and the ministers of agriculture of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
4. Since October 2002, the European Union has been implementing the project "Strengthening
Agricultural Quarantine Services in the Caribbean" (SAQS).  With IICA’s assistance, national
consultations were held on the modernization of the agricultural health and food safety services of 15Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) member countries.  In 13 of these countries, terms of reference
were drawn up for the coordination of agricultural health and food safety committees.
5. Sponsored by the SAQS project, IICA has begun to prepare national plans for tackling bovine
diseases with the governmental veterinary services of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica,
Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Similar work will get under way inApril with the veterinary services of Belize, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
6. In collaboration with the private and academic sectors of the Caribbean, IICA held a seminar-
workshop on 12-15 November in Trinidad and Tobago, entitled "Improving the Competitiveness of
the Poultry Sector in the Caribbean".  At this event, sanitary protocols were developed for egg
production and the first steps were taken in developing labeling and quality standards for Caribbeaneggs and poultry health programs.  The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceG/SPS/GEN/376
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(USDA/APHIS), the US Food and Drug Admini stration (FDA), the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) and the Canadian Egg Marketing Ag ency (CEMA) provided technical support for the
workshop.
Support for the Inter-American Group for Coordination on Plant Protection (GICSV)7. At a meeting of the GICSV held in Bogotá, Colombia, in February, IICA was asked to serve
as the organization’s Technical Secretariat.  The GICSV was established  to coordinate hemisphere-
level efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of pests and promote measures for their control.
The GICSV is made up of the regional phytosanita ry protection organizations of the Americas,
including the Southern Cone Plant Protection Committee (COSAVE), the North American Plant
Protection Organization (NAPPO), the Internationa l Regional Organization for Agricultural Health
(OIRSA) and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).
Training in HACCP
8. IICA continued to implement HACCP training programs, holding events in November 2002
and March 2003, respectively.  The two courses took the form of videoconferences that connected
eight countries and trained 125 people.
9. These course are being carried out with the support of the World Bank’s Global Development
Learning Network (GDLN).  IICA is in the process of producing this same course on an interactive
CD-ROM.  This tool will be used to support the training process by means of local tutors and allow a
greater coverage of HACCP training in the Americas.  The next course will be held in May,
connecting five different countries.  Texas A&M University provides technical support for thesetraining programs.
Information
10. Press releases, publications and weekly bulletins are disseminated via the Andean
Agricultural Health Information Network ( http://www.iicasaninet.net/ ) and the Agrosalud XXI
Network ( www.infoagro.net/salud ) that provide important information about animal health, plant
protection and food safety.  The websites of these two networks currently receive over 3000 hits per
day, have nearly 4000 registered users and reach 48 countries.
11. For more information about these initiatives, contact:
ebolanos@iica.ac.cr  (Eric Bolaños) or kwalker@iica.ac.cr  (Kevin Walker)
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Agricultural Health and Food Safety
http://infoagro.net/salud
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