PRESS RELEASE – SPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy Validation Workshop conducted in Antigua and Barbuda by CAHFSA and IICA under EU-funded project

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key stakeholders participating in Validation Workshop discussing the draft National AHFS policy and Action Plan and providing feedback for its Finalization (photographs provided by Carol-Faye Bynoe-George, Communications Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade & Barbuda Affairs)

 

 

The European Union-funded 11th European Development Fund Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Project (11th EDF SPS Measures Project) is implemented by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) with regional partners: the CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and CARIFORUM.

Under the SPS Measures Project and in partnership with the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), a regional Agricultural Health and Food Safety (AHFS) Policy and Action Plan and National AHFS Policy Framework were developed as a means of strengthening the SPS regulatory environment. Antigua and Barbuda was selected to pilot the National AHFS Policy Framework.

Over the past five months a policy expert consultant, Ms. Stacy Rose, has been working with key stakeholders from the AHFS System to develop a National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy and Action Plan for Antigua and Barbuda.

This policy development process involved the conduct of a situational analysis through a consultative information-gathering process and the hosting of a national stakeholder prioritization workshop (March 2023) to facilitate deliberations amongst relevant stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs; Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards; Ministry of Health, Wellness and Environment; Customs and Excise Division; Consumer Affairs; producers (crop and livestock farmers, fishers); agroprocessors; and other members of the private sector. This first public exercise served to prioritize the policy issues to be addressed and this information was used to develop the Draft Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy for Antigua and Barbuda.

On Tuesday 23rd May 2023, a National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy Validation Workshop was held to review the draft policy.

During the opening session of the Workshop, remarks included those from Ms. Mariana Arias, Programme Manager, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM: “In our objective we want to increase trade with Antigua and Barbuda and with the whole Caribbean, we want more business relations, more economic and people-to-people exchanges, but equally important we want healthier people in the Caribbean and a healthier environment for people everywhere [by way of] the EU Farm-to-fork strategy. That is why we are funding this project.” Ms. Arias stated that ultimately the goal is to enhance trade and health of animals, plants and humans and it will help with the regional goal to decrease food imports by 25% by the year 2025.

Dr. Janet Lawrence, 11th EDF SPS Project Manager and IICA’s Agricultural Health, Food Safety and Quality Specialist for the Caribbean, outlined that the main objective of the 11th EDF SPS Measures Project is to build “the capacity of CARIFORUM Countries to comply with SPS measures required for gaining market access and improving regional and international trade. She further stated that an “important component of this project is strengthening the SPS Regulatory Environment, which is a critical underpinning for us to modernize SPS services in the region.” During her remarks, she explained that this pilot of the National Policy Framework in Antigua and Barbuda provides an opportunity to capture best practices and lessons learned that will be taken onboard as we scale-up policy development to other countries.

Dr. Gavin Peters, Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) stated: “This is an important milestone and step in the process of building an efficient and effective SPS regime in the region.” He congratulated Antigua and Barbuda for being the country to pilot the National Policy Framework and outlined the goal for every country to have a National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy developed and implemented.

The Hon. E.P. Chet Greene, Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, through his video message, indicated: “Contaminated food is responsible for an approximate 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses and about 420,000 deaths world-wide each year. Food can be contaminated due to a variety of factors, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemical contaminants, and toxins produced by micro-organisms. In addition to the impact on human health, the recall of contaminated food can have significant economic consequences for crop and livestock farmers, as well as those who market their produce. The negative publicity surrounding recall can also damage reputation of a marketer and/or a brand, leading to a loss of consumer trust and confidence, and reduce sales in the future.” For this reason, Minister Greene stated “It is essential to have strong policies and regulations in place to prevent and to respond to food-borne illnesses and in order to protect the health and well-being of consumers and livelihood of those involved in the food production and marketing chains. A policy on Agricultural Health and Food Safety can help to protect the health of consumers, livestock and crops.

In addition to emphasizing how critical and crucial an Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy is for the sustainable development of Antigua and Barbuda and by extension the wider Caribbean, Minister Greene pledged the support of the government, as well as his personal unequivocal support to the process of implementation of the National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy and Action Plan.

During the workshop the draft policy was reviewed and amendments were submitted with the agreement that once the revisions were made, the finalized version of the policy would be officially submitted to the government for enactment, followed by implementation through a proposed action plan forming part of the document.