Cambodia Biosecurity
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Biosecurity Risk - Technical Dialogue Session (22 July 2009)
A briefing event on the theme of Biosecurity Risk Management, Food Safety and Trade Facilitation was hosted by FAO Cambodia on 22 July 2009. The event, which featured presentations by specialists followed by panel discussions on the various subjects, was attended by over 20 Government counterparts and development partners. The main objective of this informal meeting was to enhance collective understanding of biosecurity issues, initiatives being undertaken by Government and development partners to address these and ways in which collective efforts can be better synchronized to improve overall effectiveness.
1. Introductory Remarks by FAO Representative in Cambodia
2. Links to Presentations
I. Karunasagar, Aquaculture Food Safety
G. Balasingam, Strategic Issues for Phytosanitary Capacity Development
R. Clarke, Making National Food Safety Systems Work
L. Allal, Animal Health and Production
M.Robson, Biosecurity and Trade Facilitation Cambodia, STDF 246
STDF 246: Creating an SPS Action Plan for Cambodia (May 2009 to April 2010)
Following analysis of capacity to manage so-called Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, it was noted that unlike its neighbours Cambodia did not have a strategic plan for addressing SPS-related issues. This in turn seems to have limited the effectiveness of both development partner and government efforts to promote exports of food and agricultural products, particularly those in forms which are particularly SPS sensitive (possible pathways for pest, disease or contamination).
As a result, the Ministry of Commerce requested the assistance of the WTO to draw up such a plan, and the task was assigned to FAO, drawing on FAO’s experience in the country on these subjects, and with inputs from various FAO staff and international consultants.
Project Approach
The project started in May 2009. It involves two major streams of work:
- The strategic and policy approach
Status and Workplan
A national task force featuring members from the main line ministries of agriculture (MAFF), commerce (MoC), industry (MIME) and health (MoH), chaired by DDG Camcontrol, met thrice - on 25 and 27 May and 27 July 2009. At the last meeting a presentation was given to outline the project status and workplan, followed by a panel discussion.
In consultation with the ministries involved, it has been decided to conduct sector studies on commodities with “high” or “medium” export potential (based on 2007 Diagnostic Trade Integration Study), namely rice, cassava, cashew, fisheries and fruit & vegetables. Three major areas of work have been defined - namely phytosanitation, contamination, and fisheries studies.
International technical specialist consultants are being identified to conduct the work during the period September-November 2009. The main activities are to identify the potential risks inherent in the trade of the various products and identify the various mitigation measures needed. It will also include identifying SPS-related market entry conditions for selected markets. In addition, an economist (see TOR) is being identified to assist with the assessment of market potential, and – together with the technical specialist – costing potential mitigation measures needed.
Once the sector studies are complete, and have been reviewed by the national task force, work will begin on synthesizing the strategic cross cutting analysis which will form the basis of the overall Action Plan, first drafts will be available for review from January 2010, with the final version due to be submitted before April 2010.
Terms of reference for sector studies:
NZ Aid Food Safety Project
Outputs
(+ papers from regional histamine/fish sauce workshop)
Animal Health
anything on HPAI from Lotfi
TCP CMB 3104: Strengthening SPS Services (Mar 2008 to Sep 2009)
As a signatory to the WTO, Cambodia is expected to comply fully with the SPS requirements, but the country’s existing implementation capacity is still quite limited. It is already a signatory to the IPPC (1952) However, to derive maximum trade benefit from these memberships, Cambodia is in need and attaches top priority to the development of appropriate mechanisms, systems and institutions to meet the international sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.
The Government of Cambodia has requested technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on capacity building to be prepared for the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Framework Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
This Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project has been assisting the Government to urgently identify institutional development and infrastructure needs, provide training to staff in critical operational areas (including inspection for pests, pest risk analysis, surveillance, international standards regarding SPS application), develop documented procedures for major activities, and assist with the formulation of a five-year development plan with the overall objective of the regulatory authorities functioning effectively in a transparent and internationally acceptable way to promote agricultural imports free of quarantine pests and exports of high quality agricultural products which could globally gain acceptance in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Project Outputs
Draft Action Plan for Phytosanitary Capacity Development (2009-2014)
