ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL
REGIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) RELATING TO THE WTO
AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
REPORT TO THE
COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES,
25 AND 26 MARCH 2014
The following communication, received on 18 March 2014,
is being circulated at the request of OIRSA.
_______________
1 TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION
ACTIVITIES RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND TRADE
1.1. Between
October 2013 and January 2014, as part of the Harmonized System for
Bovine Traceability programme implemented by OIRSA with the support of the
Inter‑American Development Bank (IDB), training was given to producers and
technicians from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
and the Dominican Republic to raise awareness of the importance of implementing
an official bovine traceability system. Training was provided on the use of
official individual identification devices and radio frequency‑operated
electronic device readers.
1.2. From
October 2013 to February 2014, under the auspices of the OIRSA‑Chinese Taipei
agreement "Regional Health Programme for Backyard Poultry (PRESAAT)",
15 training events on poultry management and health were organized for small‑scale
producers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.
1.3. Officials
from the OIRSA Regional Agricultural Quarantine Programme organized two
training courses on quarantine treatment for 70 technicians from the Guatemalan
International Quarantine Treatment Service (SITC).
1.4. From
14 to 18 October 2013, in the district of Aguadulce, Panama, OIRSA,
in coordination with the Food Safety Department (DEPA) of the Ministry of
Health (MINSA), gave a seminar in preparation for the FVO/DG-SANCO audit
on veterinary drug residues and contaminants in live animals and
animal products. Fifty-eight people, including technicians and producers,
participated in the event.
1.5. Under
Mexico's OIRSA/SENASICA agreement, a workshop on quality management and the validation
of analytical methods was held from 14 to 18 October 2013 in
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. It was attended by representatives from animal
health laboratories in the nine countries of the region.
1.6. In
Panama, from 21 to 25 October 2013, OIRSA officials made inspection
visits to six aquaculture sector companies in relation to the implementation
of the HACCP system and veterinary drug residues and contaminants.