This Sanitary and Phytosanitary Strategy is a multi-sectoral document aiming at achieving a fully integrated, internationally competitive regional economic community that promotes shared prosperity and improved livelihoods for all its people through implementing effective, risk-based, harmonized SPS measures aiming at facilitating safe regional and international trade. The Strategy sets out the following four strategic objectives (i) prioritize and address the public and private sector capacity development at individual, organizational and system levels, including the national legal and regulatory framework, infrastructure and equipment, human resource development; (ii) enhance the regional leadership, coordination and collaboration on SPS issues; (iii) reduce trading costs associated with SPS measures; (iv) manage the SPS risks. Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are required to ensure agricultural trade does not increase risks to food safety, animal health and plant health. But SPS measures must be designed and implemented with the aim of facilitating safe trade, as laid out in COMESA’s SPS regulations as well as in the WTO’s SPS Agreement. To achieve a better production, the implementation of this Strategy includes (i) the increasing of the evaluation of the performance of veterinary services including four areas (a) human, physical and financial resources; (b) technical authority and capability; (c) interaction with stakeholders; (d) ability to access markets; (ii) the improvement of the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) to implement International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) and meet their obligations under the IPPC; (iii) the promote of the importance of biosecurity; (iv) the develop and implementation of early warning systems. In the field of nutrition, the document envisages (i) the development of a quick guide and guidelines to assess capacity building needs in food control systems; (ii) the promotion of traceability systems within agri-food chains as they provide information that can assist with an effective emergency response. The assessment and implementation of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary aiming at promoting a safer and more controlled circulation of goods, particularly agricultural ones, must have the following characteristics (i) promote the use of tools which make the prioritization process of the needs inclusive, transparent, and as objective as possible, particularly the “Prioritizing SPS Investments for Market Access" (P-IMA) tool; (ii) strengthen regional centers of excellence and accredited reference laboratories; (iii) develop SPS information exchange and knowledge management systems (web-based portal, rapid alerts, etc.); (iv) maintain the level of protection but at lower cost, for example through (a) the one-stop border posts that often integrate SPS measures with other border operations, and thus reduce costs, (b) promoting mutual recognition of Member States’ capacity to avoid duplication of effort, such as testing by both exporting and importing country, (c) creating/strengthening effective and efficient public-private partnerships, and (d) building awareness of users of the services provided by competent authorities. As for Governance, the implementation of the strategy will be led and coordinated by the SPS Unit at the COMESA Secretariat. Most activities will take place in and be conducted by public and private sector actors in the Member States. Regional and international partners’ contributions are anticipated in resourcing and implementing the activities.
2016-01-01