On Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture donated $600 000 to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to assist developing countries in meeting international food safety, animal and plant health standards for trade.
In a statement to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), US ambassador Dennis Shea said the donation was intended to help support an agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS).
“Its provisions ensure regulatory approaches are transparent, and science and risk-based, setting the gold standard for protecting consumer health, supporting rural livelihoods and facilitating trade,” he said.
“Extreme poverty is predominantly found in rural areas where agricultural productivity is low. Building farmers’ capacity to implement the SPS Agreement is critical to improving access to safe tools and technologies, increasing agricultural sustainability and achieving the vision of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming."
The US agriculture department will work in partnership with the STDF, which has a global network of trade, health and agriculture experts to provide support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international food safety, animal and plant health standards.
