Standards and Trade Development Facility STDF

Resultat

OVERVIEW Since its inception, the STDF has approved 117 project preparation grants (PPGs) and 106 projects grants (PGs). Overall, the STDF has devoted 65% of project and PPG resources to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Other Low-Income Countries (OLICs). Around 48% of projects and PPGs are implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa, 25% in Asia and Pacific and 17% in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, 9% of projects and PPGs are classified as global. As of 24 May 2022, 77 projects were completed, 28 are ongoing, and 1 is awaiting to be contracted. As to project development, 99 PPGs were completed, resulting in the development of a project proposal, the assessment or prioritization of SPS needs, or the conduct of a feasibility study. Some examples of results achieved by projects and in some specific countries/regions are provided below. These information are reported in the STDF draft annual report 2021 which was presented at the STDF working group meeting in June 2022. Burkina Faso Aflatoxin contamination is a challenge in Burkina Faso, where a majority of the population works in agriculture, and priority crops such as maize are affected. To reduce aflatoxin levels in maize and its by-products in an integrated way, the STDF coordinated with public and private stakeholders on a project combining the use of the biopesticide Aflasafe and good practices to mitigate and control aflatoxins, implemented by the EIF National Implementation Unit (NIU), housed in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts. Addressing this issue is expected to improve the safety and quality of maize, supporting food security, improving consumer health, increasing producer incomes and opening up market access. RESULTS Reduced aflatoxin levels in maize increased exports and opened up new markets for producers in Burkina Faso in 2021. The maize produced in winter 2020, protected with Aflasafe and managed with good harvesting and post-harvest practices, resulted in zero rejections registered at the border, a direct result of the project training provided to producers, collectors, wholesalers and traders. This is a significant change from the previous year, when a private processing company rejected 40 tons of maize produced by a farmer organization in winter 2019, due to high levels of aflatoxin, exceeding international standards. This maize was produced without Aflasafe and good harvesting and post-harvest practices. Project partners included researchers, health officials and standards authorities. The Applied Sciences and Technologies Research Institute developed biological solutions to reduce aflatoxin contamination in maize and maize byproducts. The national public health laboratory and the national standardization agency worked together to develop rapid tests to measure aflatoxin levels in maize. The strengthened technical capacities of laboratory agents and government officials helps ensure sustainability of results. At the regional level, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture shared the integrated approach to reducing aflatoxins in maize throughout the region. This project also had an indirect, positive impact on the local market, raising the raising thequality and safety of maize, improving public health in the country. Improving phytosanitarycontrols to boost Ugandan flower exports The global flower industry is set to grow to US$49.1 billion by 2028 rebounding from pandemic-related challenges and exceed 2019 levels by 43%, according to a market study. A key obstacle to export growth is the African cotton leafworm. Producers were facing heavy losses due to an increasing number of interceptions of cut flower exports to the European Union. The STDF has been assisting Uganda through an implementing agency, CABI, to address the problem. Six years after the end of the project, CABI, funded a qualitative study to assess the sustainability of project outcomes, extract lessons learned and propose future recommendations. Some of the results are provided below. RESULTS The 2021 study found that the number of interceptions of rose exports due to the African cotton leafworm had drastically reduced during and after the project and was directly attributed to the continued outcomes from the projects interventions.During the life of the project, there were78 interceptions of cut flowers due to this pest. That figure dropped to six in the years immediately following the end of the project, from 2016 to 2018. The study found that the sharing of best practices played a key role in these lasting results: Knowledge imparted to staff in the flower farms on how to manage and eliminate the pest in production sites continued to be applied, leading to a near total elimination of the pest. The study attributed the reduction of interceptions to three key areas: Pest management capacity at the farm level,including inspections and certification;self-regulation measures in the private sector; and a strong, ongoing public-private partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Department of Crop Protection and the Uganda Flower Exporters Association. Accelerating trade with electronic certifications In 2021, in response to the pandemic, countries increasingly turned to SPS eCert to improve and accelerate cross-border trade in food and agricultural products. For example, the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, developed by the UNESCAP, entered into force in February 2021. Paperless SPS systems can improve traceability along supply chains, cut trade times and costs, lower food waste, reduce fraudulent certificates and build trust among trading partners. By the end of 2021, 104 countries were registered with the IPPC ePhyto Solutions tool, with more than half using ePhytos in a business-as-usual context. About 100,000 ePhytos were exchanged per month in 2021, according to the IPPC, double the average in 2020. The STDF organized meetings in April and November of the Electronic Certification Advisory Committee (ECAC), during which partners and practitioners exchanged experiences, explored collaborations and promoted synergies to facilitate electronic certification. Participants learned about OECD quantitative-qualitative project research on digital opportunities for SPS systems and the use of SPS eCert, as well as the new Codex Guidelines on the use of paperless electronic certificates. In February 2022, the STDF contributed to a knowledge-sharing module on Facilitating trade through digital SPS certification, led by ADB, under CAREC. The STDF also organized with UNESCAP, the ADB and the International Chamber of Commerce a webinar on SPS eCert:Accelerating cross-border paperless trade in September, attended by over 200 participants. It covered the state of play of SPS eCert, case studies from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as lessons learned, challenges and developments in scaling up SPS eCert. Fostering public-private partnerships for safe trade Regulatory authorities and private sector stakeholders should join forces to roll out innovative and sustainable approaches to facilitate safe trade an approach frequently adopted in STDF projects. In 2021,STDF compiled and published 10 case stories from around the world on public-private partnerships (PPPs) strengthening food safety, animal SPS challenges to facilitate safe trade by developing countries. These stories share experiences and lessons learned from action-oriented PPPs, to promote greater access to and use of good practices at the global, regional and national levels. Stories cover boosting table grape exports from India, upgrading quarantine control in Djibouti,eradicating foot and mouth disease in Colombia, and more. The above are some examples of results achieved. The impact of the works of the STDF will be felt more in the medium term as countries adopt their systems to align with global SPS standards. The same applies to the impact of the STDF training on their P-IMA (Prioritising investement for market access) tool to a number of staff of several partner countries and institutions.