G/SPS/GEN/1575  
 
13 October  2017 
(17-5523) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
REPORT ON SPS ACTIVITIES  
COMMUNICATION FROM  THE CARIBBEAN AGRICU LTURAL HEALTH  
AND FOOD SAFETY AGEN CY (CAHFSA)  
The followi ng communication, received on 12 October 2017, is being circulated at the request of 
the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency  (CAHFSA) . 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) was established by the 
Heads of Government of the C aribbean Community (CARICOM) to perform a coordinating and 
organizing role in the establishment of an effective and efficient regional sanitary and 
phytosanitary (SPS) regime and to execute on behalf of member States such SPS actions and 
activities that ca n be more effectively and efficiently executed through a regional mechanism.  
1.2.  CAHFSA is pleased to provide this report to the 70th meeting of the SPS Committee 
summarising key activities and providing updates on CARICOM SPS standard -setting work 
programme f or the period July to September 2017.  
2  DEVELOPING LINKAGES WITH INTERNATIONAL S PS RELATED ORGANIZAT IONS  
2.1.  CAHFSA collaborated with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and regional 
partners to organize and implement the IPPC Regional workshop for the Caribbean, held on 
13-15 Septem ber in Christ Church Barbados.  
3  REGIONAL COLLOBORATI ON  
3.1.  CAHFSA has been designated to replace the abolished Caribbean Plant Protection Commission 
as the Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO) and has been given approval by the Seventy -
First Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) -Agriculture to 
write to the FAO seeking official recognition as the RPPO for the Caribbean.  
3.2.  CAHFSA continues work on the Food and Agricultural Organizat ion of the United Nations 
(FAO) Regional Project for provision of " Services towards strengthening agricultural quarantine 
capacities in Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis " The objective of the Agreement is to 
strengthen the plant and animal quaranti ne capacities of the three countries based on specific 
priorities identified by these countries in their respective Country Programming Frameworks . 
4  STAN DARD SETTING AND IMP LEMENTATION  
4.1  Market Access  
4.1.  The guideline for preparing market access proposals has been adopted as a regional 
(CARICOM) document.  G/SPS/GEN/1575  
 
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  4.2  Pest Risk Analysis  
4.2.  The Guideline for conducting pest risk analysis for imported plant and plant products  which 
was developed to provide a standardised model for interpreting and applying the IPPC ISPM 
standard s for Pest Risk Analysis (PRA), has been adopted as a CARICOM document and was 
published.  
4.3  Regional Policy for Biosafety  
4.3.  The Regional Biosafety Policy which was developed with the intention of developing and 
implementing a harmonized biosafety system in 12  participating CARICOM countries, based on the 
Cartagena Protocol has was adopted by the 71st Special meeting of COTED.  
4.4  Regional Animal Health Protocols  
4.4.  Three regional animal health protocols have been reviewed by the SOLAC and the LAC of 
CARICOM. These i nclude:  
 Harmonized Protocols for the Movement of  Dogs and Cats in the Caribbean;  
 Conditions for A Permit Controlling the Importation of Live Caprine and Ovine from 
CARICOM Countries ; 
 Protocol Governing CARICOM Control, Inspection and Approval Procedures for Trade in 
Animals and Animal Products . 
5  CAPACITY BUILDING  
5.1  Risk Analysis  
5.1.  CAHFSA continues to provide training in pest risk analysis to CARICOM member States ; 
towards improving the competence of analysts in the region and in an effort to build a cadre of r isk 
assessment professionals.  
6  TECHNICAL RESOURSES AND INFORMATION EXCH ANGE  
6.1.  The Information Portal  developed on CAHFSA 's website continues to provide weekly update s 
on WTO notifications as well agricultural health and food safety alerts.  
6.2.  Several databases related to agricultural heath and food safety have been developed to 
improve the delivery and sharing of information across the region. These databases, which are still 
in the developmental stage, are available from the CAHFSA website and provide informati on on:  
 List of pesticides registered by CARICOM member States;  
 Risk analyses completed ; 
 Regionally regulated pests ; 
 Regional trade issues;  
 Import and export requirements of the member States ; 
 Food safety, animal and plant health practitioners in the regio n. 
7  DISPUTE RESOLUTION  
7.1.  A first round of consultation on the Mechanism for the Settlement of SPS Disputes in 
CARICOM has been completed and the document will b e redrafted for a second round.  
 
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