G/SPS/GEN/1991  
28 February  2022 
(22-1904) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR  
PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) RELATING TO THE WTO AGREEMENT  
ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND  
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES,  
NOVEMBER  2021 TO FEBRUARY  2022 
The following communication, received on 2 2 February  2022, is being circulated at the request 
of OIRSA . 
 
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1  TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES RELATING TO 
AGRICU LTURAL HEALTH AND TRADE  
1.1.  A workshop on the prevention and control of swine diseases was held for veterinarians from 
the epidemiological surveillance system of the Animal Health Directorate of the Guatemalan Ministry 
of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGA), bene fiting 25 public sector professionals.  
1.2.  A virtual workshop was held on monitoring and detecting Foc TR4 using satellite images, and 
technicians were trained in the diagnosis, prevention and control of this pest as part of the regional 
pilot project for the prevention of  Fusarium Tropical Race 4 in Central America, which is being 
developed by OIRSA and the Chinese Taipei International Cooperation and Development Fund.  
1.3.  A regional refresher workshop on Xylella fastidiosa  was held, which was coordinated by OIRSA , 
the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) of Costa Rica . The 
event was attended by 20 technicians from plant health laboratories in the OIRSA region, and 
provided an understanding of the various diagnostic techniques fo r identification and the current 
regulatory procedures.  
1.4.  Field schools, demonstration plots, phytosanitary plans and field visits were carried out and 
new areas with healthy plants were created to manage the Diaphorina citri  vector, which affects 
citrus.  
1.5.  Workshops and training were held in Honduras and Guatemala on phytosanitary surveillance 
of the giant African snail pest.  
1.6.  Twenty -seven assistants from the International Quarantine Treatment Service (SITC) and 
15 inspectors of the Agricultural Protection Service (SEPA) of Guatemala were certified in quarantine 
treatments in conformity with the Australian fumigation standard . Eighty-two SEPA inspectors 
received training on occupational accidents . Officials from Belize and Honduras received traini ng on 
the interpretation of X -ray images . In Mexico, training was provided on phytosanitary treatments 
using chemical products on imported plant goods, products and by -products.  
1.7.  A lecture on OIRSA member countries' programmes on food contaminant monitoring  was given 
at the "International Workshop One Health and Climate Change Latin America, Ibero and the 
Caribbean ". G/SPS/GEN/1991  
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  1.8.  The second and third course on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) 
interpretation and auditing was held with the Spanish Associa tion for Standardization and 
Certification (AENOR), with the participation of 42 officials for the safety of food of animal and plant 
origin from the nine OIRSA region countries.  
1.9.  Twenty safety officers from OIRSA region countries followed the AENOR Live Tr aining course 
on remote audits.  
1.10.   The regional quarantine early warning system was made available to the National Agrifood 
Health, Safety and Quality Service (SENASICA) of Mexico.  
1.11.   Training was provided to technicians from the Ministry of Agricultural Develop ment (MIDA) of 
Panama and the Institute for Agricultural and Livestock Protection and Health (IPSA) of Nicaragua 
on the use of the traceability system and its platforms Trazar -Agro and the movement control 
module . The Panamanian Aquatic Resources Authority  (ARAP) was trained on the implementation of 
Trazar -Agro for fisheries traceability.  
1.12.   The development of the food safety module was completed, which will allow Ministry officials 
to, inter alia , calculate the frequency of risk -based inspections, schedule in spections of 
establishments, enter laboratory results, and prepare and follow up action plans.  
2  SUPPORT FOR THE HARMONIZATION AND EQUIVALENCE PROCESS  
2.1.  Meetings of the regular assembly of the Antimicrobial Resistance Network (AMR) were held in 
Guatemala, with  the participation of officials from veterinary drug registries, industries 
manufacturing, importing and marketing these products in Central America, and productive sectors.  
2.2.  The regional form for assessing biosecurity on poultry farms was updated within th e Regional 
Technical Committee on Poultry Health (CTRSA).  
2.3.  Support was provided to the Dominican Republic with the development of an action plan in 
response to the measure to temporarily increase official controls on the entry into the 
European  Union of aub ergines, beans, sweet peppers and hot peppers exported from the Dominican 
Republic.  
2.4.  Support was provided to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of El  Salvador  to 
assess the procedure for sampling, stor ing, transport ing and analys ing samples of imported dairy 
products carried out by the Ministry's Division responsible for the safety of food of animal origin.  
2.5.  Participation in the thematic session of the SPS Committee on the procedure for monitoring the 
WTO international harmonization pr ocess, under the theme,  "harmonized regional guide to good 
risk-based agricultural practices".  
2.6.  Support was provided with the development of the annual plan of the national codex 
programme 2022 of El Salvador, in the framework of the El Salvador -Guatemala b inational project.  
2.7.  Support was provided to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Dominican Republic for the 
development of the national programme for the monitoring and control of chemical and biological 
hazards in milk and milk products in the Dominican Repu blic. 
2.8.  Participation, as an observer, in the virtual session of the mirror committee (EC), a working 
group convened by the Salvadoran Technical Regulation Agency (OSARTEC), in which the proposals 
to create and revise Codex Alimentarius standards, guidelines  and codes of practice were analysed, 
with a view to issuing a country stance on such proposals.  
2.9.  Analyses to establish the baseline for inorganic arsenic in polished rice in OIRSA member 
countries were carried out in partnership with the International Atom ic Energy Agency (IAEA) and 
the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Livestock Production of Brazil.  G/SPS/GEN/1991  
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  3  PREVENTION, CONTROL AND ERADICATION ACTIVITIES (PROGRAMMES OR 
CAMPAIGNS)  
3.1.  Technical assistance was provided, and emergency funds were designated to contai n and 
control the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the Dominican Republic and to implement 
prevention measures in ASF -free countries . Follow-up meetings were held with Dominican  Republic 
authorities and other cooperation agencies (OIE, FAO, IICA, USDA /APHIS) to coordinate joint actions 
to eradicate and contain  the outbreak . Outreach materials containing health alerts and advisory 
measures were developed . Training workshops were held on using the digital agricultural information 
system (SIDIAGRO) platfo rm as part of  the ASF epidemiological surveillance component in the 
Dominican Republic . Supplies, materials, reagents and minor equipment were provided to 
strengthen ASF diagnosis in member countries.  
3.2.  Kits and supplies for the diagnosis of bovine brucellos is were delivered to El Salvador, and traps 
for the control of Aethina tumida  were delivered to Belize.  
3.3.  Monitoring groups were set up in response to the outbreak of Newcastle disease in Belize . 
Videos on avian influenza epidemiological surveillance were al so produced and distributed.  
3.4.  The national phytosanitary surveillance system platform was launched in the 
Dominican  Republic . This computer tool supports the work of plant health technicians through the 
creation, for example, of surveillance routes, sentine l plants, trapping, sentinel plots and 
examination.  
3.5.  The project to enhance the control of HLB and to implement integrated pest management was 
assessed in Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua.  
3.6.  Canine units for the detection of flavourings of products of animal o r plant origin were trained 
in the Dominican Republic and Belize, to strengthen border control points for the prevention of the 
entry of quarantine pests and diseases . A portable incinerator was also installed at the Óscar Arnulfo 
Romero y Galdámez airport  in El Salvador.  
3.7.  The Trazar -Agro system was further developed to strengthen countries' capacities to control 
the movement of live animals and products of porcine origin, thereby supporting health programmes 
and the work with some countries in the region to  obtain recognition of Classical Swine Fever (CSF) 
disease status.  
4  STRENGTHENING OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN ORDER TO FACILITATE TRADE  
4.1.  Plans are being drawn up to support the development of artisanal fisheries, to strengthen and 
facilitate domestic trade in such products and to increase the purchasing power of fishers on the 
Caribbean coast of Honduras, together with the GOAL organization and the National Agriculture and 
Food Health and Safety Service (SENASA) of Honduras.  
4.2.  The technical capacities of  staff from the traceability department at IPSA of Nicaragua were 
strengthened, through the installation of the new application and database server and adjustments 
to the Trazar -Agro movement control module to facilitate the trade and the movement of dairy 
products.  
4.3.  Assistance continued to be given to the national traceability systems of Guatemala and 
Nicaragua in preparing the single guide on sanitary movement and control (GUIASA) for exports . 
Proof of origin, official individual identification and th e sanitary status of animals are requirements 
for entry into the destination country.  
4.4.  The Trazar -Agro mobile application for movement control was made available to countries to 
support the movement of live animals, fresh and processed products of various c ategories, such as 
cattle, pigs and aquaculture (farmed shrimp) as a domestic and foreign trade facilitation tool.  G/SPS/GEN/1991  
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  5  STRATEGIC ALLIANCES FOR THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND TRADE  
5.1.  Together with the University of Glasgow in Scotland, the regional project , "Molecul ar 
characterization of the rabies virus in animal outbreaks in OIRSA member countries" was carried 
out. 
5.2.  The technical cooperation agreement between MAGA, the Guatemalan Swine Association 
(APOGUA) and OIRSA to strengthen the prevention and control of swine diseases, with an emphasis 
on ASF and CSF, was reviewed and updated.  
5.3.  The second phase of the SDTF/PG/495 project is being implemented in six countries (Belize, 
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama), including 14 additional techniques.  
5.4.  The FAO -OIRSA agreement, "Animal health emergency preparedness and management 
systems and management of complaints and notification to improve early detection of animal 
diseases ; with special emphasis on African swine fever (ASF) in the Dominican Republic", was signed.  
5.5.  OIRSA and the Palm Growers Association (GREPALMA) carried out activities to strengthen pest 
prevention in oil palm cultivation, in order to step up  the prevention of quarantine and economic 
pests in oil palm cultivation.  
5.6.  The 33rd meeting of the  Technical Consultation among Regional Plant Protection Organizations 
(RPPOs) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) was held, where the regional plant 
health -related challenges were presented.  
5.7.  Participation in the event to share the achie vements in Central America of the Research 
Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) of the Consultative Group 
on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), organized by the Secretariat of the Central American 
Agricultural Counci l (CAC).  
5.8.  Processes for registration, renewal and modification were systematized, configured and 
authorized in the following areas : veterinary drugs and related products, products used in animal 
feed, poultry programme, fertilizers and pesticides for agricu ltural use, meat and meat products, 
fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, milk and dairy products, aquaculture and fisheries products 
and apiculture products.  
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