Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Handling in Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Project
Start & End Date: 2012-2018
Country/Countries: Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic
Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: Asian Development Bank
Ensuring food is safe to eat is a public good. People’s health depends on it, and so does the health of economies. People and countries won’t buy food if they are not certain it’s safe, but they’ll often buy more of it when they can be sure that it is. Quality counts too. “Improving our sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) handling standards is important because the countries around us have already done so,” says Chitpasong Kousonsavath, coordinator of the food science course in the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Laos. “It’s a globalized world. We simply can’t stand still.” Building safe, secure systems for production and safe handling of agricultural products for international trade is an important part of ADB’s regional ADF grant operations.
ADB is helping Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic strengthened sanitary and phytosanitary systems (SPS) to facilitate trade and protect public health. The project establishes and enhances surveillance and inspection programs for plant health, animal health, and food safety. It improves training of specialists, and promotes regional cooperation and harmonization of SPS measures. Pest surveys were completed and pest lists were updated and finalized for crops. Twelve Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were signed with Thailand. Export permits were signed with Viet Nam and one MOU was signed with the People's Republic of China. Surveillance plan for transboundary animal diseases control (TAD), guidelines for national TAD surveillance procedures, and guidelines on laboratory testing protocols for TAD control prepared under the original project are being implemented. Early Detection-Warning and Rapid Response System (DWRS) for animal diseases have been established. Risk-based surveillance of transboundary animal diseases and awareness of transboundary animal diseases has been established in two new target provices. Risk-based inspection and surveillance manual, inclduing surveillance, sampling and laboratory analysis protocol were completed. Group meetings were conducted: With Thailand on information sharing of updated pest list, locus outbreak, and SPS related import permit conditions; with Viet Nam on infomration exchange, pest management and surveillance, and SPS related import permit conditions; and with PRL on updated pest list, locus outbreak and preparation for the export of 22 more crops. Construction of the teaching and laboratory facilities and development and revision of curricula for the faculty of agriculture of the National Universit of Lao PDR were completed. Facilities and curricula have been used since the academic year 2015/2016.
AFF products become safer, more efficiently produced, and traded in greater quantities and aligned with the Lao PDR Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Agricultural Development Strategy, 2011 -2020.