WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/199
27 July 2000
(00-3095)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Submission by Jordan
Within the context of Jordan's fulfilling its obligations to the WTO in relation to Jordan's
commitments under the SPS Agreement, efficient implementation of the Agreement is essential.
Consequently, sufficient and high standard quarantine measures and laboratory analysis need to be
made available in order to ensure that both imported and exported animals, animal products and
agricultural products are safe and healthy and of high quality.
Therefore, assistance would be required in the following areas under the operation of the
Ministry of Agriculture:
− Improvement of veterinary quarantine capacities;
− Improvement of plants laboratories capacities.
I would very much appreciate it, if this request for technical assistance is circulated to
Members of the Committee for their consideration with the detailed description of two project
proposals for the above-mentioned areas, including the following:
• Background and justification;
• Project objective;
• Expected outputs;
• Description of main activities;
• Project implementation;
• Executing agencies;
• Local partner organization and target group;
• Costs and benefits;
• Risks and important assumption.G/SPS/GEN/199
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IMPROVEMENT OF PLANT LABORATORY CAPACITIES
Project Proposal
1. Background and justification
The country's only Pesticide Analysis Laboratory  was established in 1983 and is
commissioned to analyze the chemical composition of pesticides and to control quality standards.
The Pesticide Residues Analysis Laboratory  was founded in 1984.  The laboratory serves as the sole
pesticide residues analysis facility for agricultural products in Jordan.  The Plant Protection
Laboratory  operates since 1990 and serves the different quarantine centers which are located at the
border entry points.  It is responsible to detect and diagnose plant pests on imported plants andagricultural products.  All three laboratories were founded by the Ministry of Agriculture, are located
in the city of Al – Baqa in the Al – Balqa governorate and are run under the direct responsibility of the
Ministry of Agriculture's Plant Protection Depart ment.  To date there are no privately managed,
government accredited laboratories in Jordan that complement the three state managed institutions.
The presently existing laboratories have a far too limited capacity and capability in analizing
samples which does not comply with the requiremen ts as formulated in the Jordanian rules and
regulations as well as the upcoming additional needs due to Jordan's increasing integration into world
trade (e.g. WTO, EU – Partnership, Arab Free Trade Zone).  The reasons for insufficient and
inadequate laboratory analyses are mainly:
− Insufficient equipment in terms of technical standard and quantity;
− Lack of qualified technical staff;
− Lack of facilities for sample collection and storage.
2. Project objective
Sufficient high standard laboratory analyses are carried out to ensure healthy, high quality
agricultural products for both local and export markets.
3. Expected outputs
• Laboratories are enabled to work efficiently and according to international,
professional standards;
• Jordan's capacity for carrying out laboratory  analyses increased sufficiently to meet
present and near future demands;
• Quality standards of locally produced and imported chemical pesticides are secured;
• Quality of agricultural products for human consumption is secured;
• Detection and diagnosis of plant pests on imported plants, seeds and agricultural
products are secured;
• A supportive and appropriate legal and regulatory framework exists in Jordan
concerning pesticide, pesticide residue and plant laboratory analyses.
4. Description of Main Activities
• Assist the Government of Jordan in the fo rmulation of an action plan for laboratory
analysis capacity improvement;
• Supply existing laboratories with sufficient equipment and transportation facilities;G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 3
• Establish one additional pesticide analysis laboratory in Aqaba and equip it
sufficiently;
• Establish four additional pesticide residue analysis laboratories in each of the main
agricultural production areas (Northern and Central Jordan Valley, Southern Jordan
Valley, Al–Mafraq, Highlands) and equip them sufficiently;
• Establish four additional quarantine laboratories at the major quarantine centers in
Aqaba, Ramtha, Amman and Rueished and equip them sufficiently;
• Train and qualify technical laboratory personnel and Plant Protection Department
staff, including scholarships;
• Advise the laboratory management in financial, organizational, administrative,
technical and personnel aspects;
• Support the establishment of private laboratories, advise and train them;
• Support the accreditation of private laboratories and the development or adjustment
of the needed rules and regulations;
• Review and eventually adjust the legislation with respect to standard methods for
laboratory analyses of pesticides, pesticide residues and quarantine products.
5. Project implementation
The project will intensively work with the presently employed laboratory management and
staff in identifying the needed equipment and training.  Also, international requirements and standards
will be reviewed and integrated into the approach.  In a first step, the already existing laboratories will
be upgraded and operated in a test run and their personnel qualified, to gain experiences and serve as
references for the establishment of the new laboratories.  At the same time, advice and training aregiven to the Plant Protection Department to better accomplish its tasks.  In the second phase, the new
laboratories will be established and prepared for full operation.  Finally, the possible privatization of
the laboratories is considered and eventually supported in establishing and accrediting of private
laboratories is given.
The project has a close relation with the Improvement of Veterinary Laboratory Capacities
Project  which is under responsibility of the MoA's Pharmacy and Drug Control Division.  The total
project duration is estimated as three years. The project location will be Amman with the different
laboratory locations as field areas.
6. Executing agency
The executing agency is the Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Jordan.
The Plant Protection Department is under the authority of the Plant Administration in the
Ministry of Agriculture.  The Plant Protection Depa rtment is subdivided into the following divisions:
− Plant Quarantine Division;
− Plant Pest Control Division;
− Plant Protection Laboratory Division;
− Pesticide Registration Division.
The main areas of responsibilities of the Plant Protection Department are:
• Preparation and monitoring of regulations concerned with production, import, export
and registration of pesticides;
• Preparation and monitoring of quarantine regulations for imported and exported
agricultural products, plants and seeds;G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 4
• Carrying out of quarantine measures;
• Preparation, monitoring and implementation of the national plant pest and disease
control programme;
• Registration of pesticides;
• Establishment and operation of department laboratories.
There are 36 staff employed in the Ministry's Plant Protection Department.  Their educational
background is agricultural engineering or chemistry with 6 MSc. and 30 BSc. graduates.
Contact:
Director of Planning and Development Administration
Ministry of Agriculture
P.O. Box 961043 or 961044
Amman, JordanTel: +(962 6) 568 61 51
Fax: +(962 6) 568 63 10
7. Local partner organization and target group
The three existing laboratories are funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and gain additional,
small income from fees for chemical analyses.  Generally, their financial situation is weak which
oftentimes hinders full operation, training of staff as well as depreciation, upgrading andsupplementing of the laboratory equipment, buildings and vehicles. The management and technical
staff comprises of 20 people with 5 MSc., 10 BSc. and 5 college graduates.  Equipment is mostly
outdated and was purchased in the 1980s.  All laboratories are located on the same compound but
operate independently and separately.
8. Costs and benefits
8.1 Contribution of Jordan
− Personnel costs for laboratory operation;
− Establishment of new buildings;
− Maintenance of already existing building facilities and equipment;
− Running costs.
Total costs for the Jordanian contribution are estimated at US$2.5 millioN.
8.2 Proposed Foreign Contribution
− Laboratory equipment and transportation facilities;
− Training and qualification of personnel;
− Running costs;
− Costs for advisory services (international and local experts).
Total costs for the foreign contribution are estimated at US$7.5 million.
8.3. Expected Benefits
It is expected that the project will considerably increase the country's plant analysis capacity
by upgrading and restructuring the existing laboratories, establishing new laboratories and supportingprivate initiatives for additional laboratories.  Analyses of pesticides, pesticide residues andG/SPS/GEN/199
Page 5
quarantine products are anticipated to be carried out more professionally in the future.  Methods
applied will be in accordance with internationa l standards and the laboratories will meet the full
demand of the private and public sector in terms of quantity and quality.
The impact on human health should be significant, as consumers increasingly complain about
disturbances after the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables obviously treated with chemical pesticides.
Furthermore, trade with other countries and competitiveness of Jordanian products will be facilitated
by proper analyses which comply with bilateral and multilateral agreements.  This will have a positive
effect on farm incomes and foreign exchange earnings.
Laboratories and government institutions will be strengthened and enabled to better
accomplish their tasks.
9. Risks and important assumptions
The main risk is the high financial need of th e laboratories to adequately cover their running
costs, depreciate equipment, buildings and vehicles, invest in additional equipment and train
personnel.  A realistic financial concept must be drawn up and implemented and sufficient subsidiesmust be made available by the government if the laboratory cannot be self-supporting.G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 6
IMPROVEMENT OF VETERINARY QUARANTINE CAPACITIES
Project Proposal
1. Background and justification
Jordan imports 0.5 million sheep, 14,000 cows and 82 million young chickens, serves as a
transit country for 0.75 million sheep, almost 2,000 goats and 1,250 cows, and exports 2,000 small
ruminants and 0.3 million chickens.  All of these live animals should undergo proper quarantine.
At present, there are four quarantine stations in Jordan which are responsible for the
inspection of live animals prior to import and export.  Three of them are located at the Syrian borderand one is situated at the seaport in Aqaba.  They lack sufficient and modern equipment, do not
dispose of even simple laboratories and small veterinary clinics and the personnel is generally
insufficiently qualified.  The capacity of the existin g stations is by far too limited to cover the total
need for animal quarantine.  Therefore, oftentimes special permission is given to carry out quarantine
measures on farms, which of course puts in question sincerity and reliability of quarantine results.  Aproper monitoring and control system to check on-farm quarantine measures is not in place and
applied.
In addition, there are 11 quarantine offices located at all the remaining border crossing points
with neighbouring countries, at the airport and at the customs office in Amman.  They are notdesigned to keep livestock, but to examine animal products and animal feed.  Imported animals that
arrive at quarantine offices must therefore be transported to quarantine stations for disease control,
which adds transportation costs and consumes time.
The quarantine stations and offices operate under the responsibility of the Ministry of
Agriculture, Animal Health Administration's Quarantine Division.  The unsatisfactory situation with
respect to their qualitative and quantitative capacity urgently needs to be addressed, especially before
the background of Jordan's WTO membership, EU-Partnership and the Arab Free Trade Zone which
calls for full, complete livestock quarantine in inte rnational trade.  It is expected that Jordan's
progressing integration into the world economy will considerably increase trade with live animals.
2. Project objective
Sufficient high standard quarantine measures are carried out to ensure healthy animals and
high quality animal products for both local and export markets.
3. Expected outputs
• Quarantine stations and offices are enabled to work efficiently and according to
international, professional standards;
• Jordan's capacity for carrying out quarantine measures has increased sufficiently to
meet present and near future demands;
• Thorough disease control of imported and exported live animals is secured;
• Quality standards of locally produced and imported animal products and animal feed
are secured;
• A supportive and appropriate legal and regulatory framework exists in Jordan
concerning veterinary quarantine.G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 7
4. Description of main activities
• Assist the Government of Jordan in the fo rmulation of an action plan for veterinary
quarantine capacity improvement;
• Supply existing quarantine stations and offices with sufficient equipment, buildings
and transportation facilities;
• Establish simple analysis laboratories and small animal clinics at some quarantine
stations;
• Establish four new quarantine stations:  at the Israeli border, at the Palestinian border,
at the Iraqi border and at the Saudi Arabian border;
• Train and qualify veterinary and technical personnel and the MoA's Quarantine
Division staff, including scholarships;
• Advise the quarantine stations' and offices' management in financial, organizational,
administrative, technical and personnel aspects;
• Review and eventually adjust the legislation with respect to carrying out veterinary
quarantine so that it matches international standards.
5. Project implementation
During the first phase, the project will intensively work with the presently employed
quarantine stations' and offices' management and staff in identifying the needed equipment and
training.  Also, international requirements and standards will be reviewed and integrated into the
approach.  At the same time, advice and training are given to the Quarantine Division and the stations'
and offices' personnel to better accomplish their tasks.  The quarantine stations and offices will beupgraded with modern equipment, small laboratories and basic animal clinics and operated in a test
run.  The gained experiences will serve as reference for the establishment of new stations, which will
commence in the second project phase.
The project has a close relation with the Improvement of Veterinary Laboratory Capacities
Project  which is under the responsibility of the MoA's Pharmacy and Drug Control Division.  The
total project duration is estimated as two years.  The project location will be Amman.
6. Executing agency
The executing agency is the Quarantine Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Jordan.
The Quarantine Division is part of the Veterinary Department which again is under the
authority of the Animal Health Administration in the Ministry of Agriculture.  The Veterinary
Department is subdivided into the following divisions:
− Pharmacy and Drug Control Division;
− Quarantine Division;
− Animal Health and Epidemic Division;
− Poultry Health Division;
− Central Veterinary Laboratory Division;
− Artificial Insemination Division;
− Finance and Administration Division.
The main areas of responsibilities of the Quarantine Division are:
• Operating quarantine stations and offices;
• Carrying out quarantine measures for import and export of live animals,G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 8
• Quality control of animal products and animal feed;
• Issuing of veterinary health certificates for the export and import of livestock;
• Granting permission for the import of live animals, animal products and feed;
• Monitoring the compliance with government rules and regulations concerning
veterinary quarantine and animal health.
There are 20 staff employed in the Ministry's Quarantine Division.  Their educational
background is 5 BSc. and the remainder has a lower qualification level.
Contact:
Director of Planning and Development Administration
Ministry of Agriculture
P.O. Box 961043 or 961044
Amman, JordanTel:  +(962 6) 568 61 51
Fax:  +(962 6) 568 63 10
7. Local partner organization and target group
The veterinary quarantine stations and offices are funded by the Ministry of Agriculture to
cover their operating expenses.  They gain additional, small fees for their services from importers and
exporters.  Generally, the stations' and offices' financial situation is weak which oftentimes hindersfull operation, training of staff as well as depreciation, upgrading and supplementing of equipment,
buildings and vehicles.
Local animal keeping farmers and livestock breeders are beneficiaries of the project.  To date
the health of imported livestock for breeding is not guaranteed and export markets are aware of thehealth insecurities with respect to live animals originating from Jordan.
8. Costs and benefits
8.1 Contribution of Jordan
− Personnel costs for quarantine stations and offices operation;
− Maintenance of already existing building facilities and equipment;
− Running costs.
Total costs for the Jordanian contribution are estimated at US$0.5 million.
8.2 Proposed foreign contribution
− Buildings for new stations, laboratories and clinics;
− Equipment and transportation facilities;
− Training and qualification of personnel;
− Running costs;
− Costs for advisory services (international and local experts).
Total costs for the foreign contribution are estimated at US$2.1 million.G/SPS/GEN/199
Page 9
8.3 Expected benefits
It is expected that the project will considerably increase the country's veterinary quarantine
capacity by upgrading, completing and restructuring the existing stations and offices as well as
supporting the establishment of four new quarantine stations.  The detection of diseases of traded liveanimals and quality control of animal products and feed are expected to be carried out professionally
and comprehensively in the future.  Methods applied will be in accordance with international
standards and the quarantine stations will meet the full demand of the private and public sector in
terms of quantity and quality.
It can be expected that the import of thoroughly and professionally examined live animals
will reduce the introduction and transfer of animal diseases and thus improve the overall healthsituation of Jordanian livestock.  Exports to other countries and competitiveness of Jordanian animals
and animal products on the world market will increase by conducting quarantine measures which
comply with bilateral and multilateral agreements and international standards.  Both effects will
increase agricultural incomes and foreign exchange earnings.  The impact on human health should be
positive by providing safe food.
Quarantine stations and offices as well as government institutions will be strengthened and
enabled to better accomplish their tasks.
9. Risk and important assumptions
The main risk is the high financial need of the quarantine stations and offices to adequately
cover their running costs, depreciate equipment, buildings and vehicles, invest in additional
equipment and train personnel.  A realistic financial concept must be drawn up and implemented and
sufficient subsidies must be made available by the government if the quarantine stations cannot be
self-supporting.
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