Page 57 - Trade and Food Standards

There are a number of donors and technical agencies that support food safety capacity development at the international level. In 2004, FAO and the WTO joined forces with the World Bank, WHO and OIE to establish the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) with the primary objectives of advocating increased investment in SPS-related capacity development and facilitating coordination among relevant donors and agencies. Regular meetings of the STDF Working Group provide a platform for discussing best practices in capacity development and promoting opportunities for upstream collaboration and coordination in the design and implementation of SPS-related interventions.
Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)
The STDF’s global network brings together leading trade, health and agriculture experts worldwide to address persistent and emerging SPS challenges, including those related to food safety. Examples of recent topics of focus include electronic SPS certification, trade facilitation in an SPS context, prioritization of SPS investments, and public-private partnerships to support SPS capacity building.
The STDF also provides limited funding to both develop and deliver innovative SPS- related projects. These grants help public and private sector stakeholders in developing countries
comply with SPS requirements to gain market access. Oftentimes, these grants function as catalysts to engage new partners and funding sources to support longer-term impact. To date, the STDF has funded over 60 projects and project preparation grants around the globe related to food safety and trade.
Since inception, in 2004, the STDF has been supported by 17 donors who have contributed over USD 52 million to the trust fund. The STDF continues to be a successful example of a partnership where FAO and the WTO work jointly to identify best practice in SPS capacity development.
Building Botswana’s technical capacities to ensure food safety and safeguard trade
As Botswana’s largest non- mineral export commodity, beef is important for the livelihood of the country’s many small-scale farmers. While beef producers rely on veterinary drugs as a crucial tool for controlling disease, the potential implications for food safety and trade must be kept in check by national controls on their residual levels in food. Any potential trade restrictions have significant implications, as seen in 2011, when beef exports to the EU were temporarily suspended due to concerns about the effectiveness of controls, leading to lost revenue estimated at €48 million.
In response, FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) implemented targeted cooperation to assist Botswana improve its system of food-safety controls, including by strengthening the technical and analytical capacities of the Botswana National Veterinary Laboratory (BNVL). Thanks to technology transfer and hands- on training, in collaboration
with the FAO/IAEA laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, the BNVL is now better able to control mycotoxins and the residues of veterinary drugs and pesticides by using isotopic and nuclear- related techniques along with a range of complementary tools: staff benefited from training in food safety testing and the procurement of lab materials and equipment; and the BNVL was accredited in over 10 modern analytical methods allowing it to demonstrate the absence of disease and contamination in food.
Not only was confidence in exports restored, but Botswana’s strengthened institutional capacities have reduced the country’s need to outsource analytical testing abroad – previously a costly and time- consuming procedure. As a result, Botswana has today not only bolstered its beef exports to the EU and other lucrative markets, but empowered its people by reaping the benefits of trade in other sectors of the economy.
Source: FAO
Part 2. The benefit of taking part 45
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