WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala said: “I thank Canada for its contribution and its long association with the STDF. Funds received will help continue the STDF’s pioneering work in food safety, animal and plant health by equipping farmers, traders and producers with the tools to access global food markets more easily. Compliance with international standards improves food security in importing and exporting countries by facilitating trade in agricultural products, increasing incomes and reducing poverty in farming communities.

The deputy. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said: “The Government of Canada is committed to helping its partners in developing countries meet international standards for food safety and animal and plant health. Our commitment today to the STDF to improve sanitary and phytosanitary systems will benefit farmers around the world, including Canadians. Using the same global standards will help developing countries achieve the United Nations goals of better feeding the world.

Canada’s new contribution will stimulate the implementation of innovative and collaborative capacity building projects based on the international standards referred to in the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and established by the Codex Alimentariusthere World Organization for Animal Health and the International Plant Protection Convention.

By bringing together and connecting diverse stakeholders from the agriculture, health, trade and development sectors and leveraging their expertise and technical expertise, the STDF identifies good practices and promotes their use to enable and catalyze improvements in the sanitary and phytosanitary field on a larger scale. This is reflected in recent work on the good regulatory practice ensure that SPS measures are appropriate, do not lead to unnecessary expense or administrative burdens and are easier to implement.

Canada, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the government department responsible for federal regulation of agriculture, has donated nearly 13.3 million francs to the various trust funds since 2002, including more than 6.6 million francs to the STDF, not including this last payment.

Developing and least developed countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean are encouraged to apply to the STDF for health project preparation and implementation grants and phytosanitary. The next deadline for submitting funding proposals expires on August 11, 2023. You will find information on the application procedure. here.

To date, the STDF has funded over 240 projects, which have benefited LDCs and other developing countries.

The STDF is a global, multi-stakeholder partnership facilitating safe and inclusive trade, established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WHO), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which hosts and manages the association.

The STDF responds to changing needs, drives inclusive trade, and contributes to economic growth, food security and poverty reduction, in support of the United Nations global goals.