G/SPS/GEN/1676/Rev.1  
 
13 March  2019 
(19-1558) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
 
SPS COMMITTEE THEMAT IC SESSION ON ENABLI NG ACCESS TO TOOLS A ND 
TECHNOLOGIES: FALL A RMYWORM CASE STUDY  
TUESDAY, 19 MARCH 20 19 
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Revision  
In the context of the Fifth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement, 
Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, Paraguay, the United States of America  and Uruguay submitted a joint 
proposal for the Committee  on the role of the WTO SPS Agreement in enabling access to tools and 
technologies and facilitat ing international trade, and offered recommendations for further 
discussions in the Committee.1 They further suggested  that interested Members form a working 
group to undertak e the activities outlined in the proposal  for consideration by the Committee under 
the Fifth Review . At its November 2018 meeting , the Committee decided to hold a thematic session 
on fall armyw orm (FAW) . 
This programm e is based on the structure suggested by the co -sponsors of the proposa l.2 
The thematic session will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 19  March  2019, beginning at 
10 a.m.  in room CR I. 
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Chairperson : Ms Noncedo Vutula  
 
1  THE SPS AGREEMENT  
Review of provisions of the SPS Agreement and WTO dispute se ttlement reports relevant to 
regulatory approaches that enable access to safe tools and technologies.  
Speaker : Ms Christiane Wolff, WTO Secretariat  
2  FALL ARMYWORM: THE P ROBLEM, THE TOOLS AN D TECHNOLOGIES  
Information on the impact of the spread of this invasive pest across the globe ; impact on food 
security and trade; the particular challenge s for smallholders; description of tools and technologies 
for control; efficacy, resistance and economic factors to consider in integrated pest management  
(IPM) strategies.  
                                                
1 G/SPS/W/305.  
2 G/SPS/W/309 and G/SPS/W/309/Corr.1 . G/SPS/GEN/1676/Rev.1  
 
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  Speakers : 
▪ Dr Jo seph Huesing, Entomologist , USAID - Bureau for Food Security , Fall Armyworm 
Team , Food Security Service Center , United States Agency for International 
Development,  USAID  
Fall armyworm in Africa and Asia: IPM strategies to manage  the pest 
▪ Dr MaryLucy Oronje,  Knowledge Bank Coordinator , CABI  Africa  
Fall armyworm: Impacts and management in Africa  
▪ Dr Maruthi Prasanna Boddupalli , Director of the CGIAR Research Program MAIZE  and 
Global Maize Program,  International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, 
CIMMYT -Keny a 
Host plant resistance to fall armyworm: Status and prospects  
▪ Ms Rose Monnerat, Coordinator of Research Group on Biological Control, Brazilian 
Agricultural Research Corporation, EMBRAPA, Brazil  
Strategies for biological control of FAW in corn crops  
3  GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND  DOMESTIC  APPROACHES  
Overview of global partnerships and development assistance efforts with focus on efforts to enable 
regulatory frameworks that facilitate access to safe and effe ctive tools and technologies . 
Speakers : 
▪ Dr Jean G érard Mezui M’E lla, Director, African Union  Inter -African Phytosanitary 
Council, AU-IAPSC  
IAPSC 's technical and policy activities o n FAW in Africa  
▪ Dr Angela Records , Science Advisor in the Bureau for Food Security , United States  
Agency for International Development,  USAID  
The FAW challenge: Using the principles of development to create a policy enabling 
environment  
▪ Dr Gbemenou Joselin Benoit Gnonlonfin , ECOWAS -USAID Senior SPS Standards Adviser , 
Directorate  Agriculture and Rural Development , and Department of Industry and Private 
Sector Promotion , ECOWAS  
West Africa perspectives on FAW monitoring and its effective control  
▪ Dr Panagiota Mylona,  Policy Officer, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, 
European Commission , European Union  
The European Union actions on FAW  
▪ Mr Ming-Yao Chiang , Assistant Researcher, Council of Agriculture , Chinese Taipei  
Controlling and investigating  Spodoptera  sp. 
▪ Mr Fahari Marwa,  Principal Agricultural Economist,  East African Community  (EAC) 
Secretariat  
Fall armyworm : Status and priorities for East Africa – Experiences and lessons from EAC  
4  MEMBER S' EXPERIENCES: SUCCES SES AND CHALLENGES I N IMPROVING REGULATO RY 
FRAMEWORKS TO SUPPOR T FARMER ACCESS TO S AFE AND EFFECTIVE TO OLS AND 
TECHNOLOGIES  
Members report on their experiences and recommend ways in which the SPS Committee could 
enhance their efforts.  
Speaker s: 
▪ Mr Jan Hendrik  Venter , Manager , Early Warning Systems , Directorate Plant Health , 
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisherie s, South Africa  
Fall armyworm outbreak: The South African experience  G/SPS/GEN/1676/Rev.1  
 
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  ▪ Dr Zachary Kinyua, Assistant Director and Head, Crop Health Research, Kenya 
Agricultur al and Livestock Research Organization , Kenya  
Challenges and current initiatives  on management of fall armyworm  
▪ Mr Santiago Bertoni,  Agricultural Trade Coordinator , Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock , 
Paraguay  
Adoption of sustainable technologies by small producers  in Paraguay: A case study 
 
▪ Mr David Porritt,  Director of Trade Policy and Negotiations , Department of Agriculture and 
Water Resources , Australia  
Regulation of genetically modified organisms in Australia  
 
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