. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/431
21 October 2003
(03-5566)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English/
Spanish
ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON
THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
(SPS AGREEMENT)
Information Submitted by the Inter-American Institute for
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
1. The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports on activities they have carried out to contribute to theunderstanding and implementation of the SPS Agreement.  Below are some of the initiatives that the
IICA has undertaken, or will undertake in the near future, in pursuit of this objective.
Support for the active participation of the countries of the Americas in the SPS Committee
2. In conjunction with the United States Depart ment of Agriculture (USDA), the IICA carried
out the first stage of the activity aimed at strengthening the active participation of Latin American and
Caribbean countries in the SPS Committee.  The second stage will begin with the twenty-eighth
meeting of the SPS Committee and is aimed at achieving the level of interlinkage required to
implement the SPS Agreement (see document G/SPS/GEN/427).
Actions directed at the Caribbean Region
3. Through the Strengthening Agricultural Quarantine Services (SAQS) project, Caribbean
countries have become more aware of the complex nature of agricultural health and food safety
services and of the need for all stakeholders to  be involved in their management.  The IICA has
encouraged the creation of multi-sectoral committees , which will eventually lead to the establishment
of national bodies. These committees are currently at various stages of development.
4. Through the SAQS project, consultations are under way on the possibility of establishing
National Risk Management Units. Countries are being assisted in the development of action plans to
respond to animal and plant health emergencies.
5. All CARIFORUM countries received training aimed at strengthening enquiry points and
notification procedures. The training sessions were held in St. Kitts in July 2003, in collaboration with
the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the WTO.
6. Training courses were offered in Good Agricult ural Practices (GAPs), traceability and Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). An ex ternally funded project enabled the OECS to publish
manuals on traceability and the GAPs of the OECS, as well as protocols for the operation of a
National Certification Scheme for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables. (For further information, contact
Everton Ambrose:  iica@candw.lc)G/SPS/GEN/431
Page 2
Support for international organizations
7. The IICA lent its support to the WTO SPS Committee at the regional workshop held in
Uruguay from 21 to 23 July 2003. (For further information, contact Michael Bedoya:
mbedoya@iica.org.ar.)
8. The IICA was involved in organizing and running the Regional Technical Consultation on
Phytosanitary Measures, under the aegis of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).  The
meeting, which was attended by many Latin America and Caribbean countries, was held in Bogota,
Colombia, from 26 to 29 August. (For further information, contact Javier Esparza:
jesparza@iica.org.co.)
9. The IICA is supporting the organization of an event on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE), coordinated by OIE Americas, in conjuncti on with the IICA and the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA), and scheduled for December 2003.  (For further information, contact Michael
Bedoya: mbedoya@iica.org.ar.)
HACCP training
10. The IICA continued its HACCP training prog ramme, holding a further course in the
Dominican Republic in August 2003.  Furthermore, a number of instructors received training in this
field and will, in turn, give courses in Guatemal a, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. A CD-ROM on
HACCP was also produced;  it has been translated into English and will soon be ready for distribution
in the Caribbean.
Information
11. Press releases, publications and weekly bulletins with information on animal and plant health
and food safety are disseminated via the Andean Agricultural Health Information Network
(http://www.iicasaninet.net/) and the AgriHealth Network (Red Agrosalud XXI at
www.infoagro.net/salud). The websites of these two networks currently receive more than 3,000 hits
per day and have some 4,000 registered users from 48 countries.  (For further information, contactEric Bolaños ebolano@iica.ac.cr, Dennis Bolaños dennis.bolano@iica.ac.cr
 or Juan Francisco
Bolaños jfbolanos@iicasaninet.net.)
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Agricultural Health and Food Safety
http://infoagro.net/salud
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