Home > NEWS > Bolstering intra-regional trade… Bolstering intra-regional trade… Bolstering intra-regional trade… February 26, 2014 CAHFSA to become operational by end of June THE Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), which was established in 2010 to develop sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures for certifying agricultural products for intra-regional trade, is to become operational, finally, by the end of June,2014. Mrs. Nisa Surujbally, Programme Manager for Agriculture and Industry within CARICOM Mrs. Nisa Surujbally, Programme Manager for Agriculture and Industry within CARICOM This was disclosed by Mrs. Nisa Surujbally, Programme Manager for Agriculture and Industry within CARICOM, during a one-day programme in Georgetown which introduced, to local stakeholders, elements of the 42 months long SPS project for CARIFORUM States, funded by the European Union (EU) and being implemented by the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA). During her presentation at that forum, she said the Board of Directors for CAHFSA will soon meet to appoint a chief executive officer (CEO) before the agency becomes operational by mid-year. Welcoming the announcement, a reliable source revealed that this development will be significant for intra-regional trade in agricultural produce, because the Region will depend on CAHFSA to strengthen agricultural health and food safety and ensure the highest standards for such trading. BLOCKING IMPORTS He said sections of the private sector in Guyana have long complained about difficulties they faced in seeking access to regional markets for goods produced here. “They have gone so far as to name some CARICOM territories which they say have been seeking to maximise their own intra-regional exports while blocking imports from Guyana,” he declared. Of significance, the source pointed out, is that apart from developing technical measures and protocols required to achieve SPS certification, CAHFSA will also devise arrangements to reduce the abuse of related actions as non-tariff barriers, such as deliberate administrative delays in the clearance of perishable agricultural goods. Surujbally emphasised that the prime responsibility of CAHFSA is to assist CARICOM member states to coordinate and strengthen infrastructure, institutional and human resource capacity to effectively deliver agricultural goods which achieve international health and food safety standards. This task is to be accomplished through steps and guidelines which are designed to safeguard human health and prevent the introduction of, or minimise the incidents of transmission of agricultural pests across national borders. She reminded that, when CAHFSA was formed in 2010, CARICOM member states agreed to its establishment, given the importance of agriculture as a key driver of the Caribbean Single Market & Economy (CSME). She said the operationalisation had been slow, since then, “due to a variety of reasons.” “Nevertheless,” she said, “I want to assure stakeholders that CAHFSA will soon be there to ensure a harmonized, regional approach to intra-regional trade in agricultural produce, agricultural health and food safety.” CAHFSA will be based in Suriname, where, during its inauguration in 2010, then CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington had pointed out that its operations were vital to fulfilling the provisions of the Treaty of Chaguaramas that calls for the putting in place of an effective SPS regime and the harmonisation of laws, administrative practices and procedures in respect of agriculture. Carrington had said: “Undoubtedly, therefore, this agency will undergird the drive towards greater Community trade in food and agricultural products, giving impetus to the CSME as well as increase the Region’s share of the global trade in agricultural products.” (By Clifford Stanley)
Posted on: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 13:43:20 +0000
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