Development Account Projects
Enhancing the capacity of developing countries to implement international standards for commercial agricultural products to improve their trade competitiveness
Background:
Most developing and transitional economies lack the capital, technology and human resources to meet internationally agreed commercial agricultural quality standards. Because compliance with those standards is widely used by importing countries as a condition for granting access to developed-economy markets, developing and transitional economies are at a competitive disadvantage in the agricultural sector. The application of internationally agreed standards by developing countries, and especially by least developed countries, would facilitate the export of their agricultural products, stimulate the development of the agricultural sector and raise average incomes, especially among rural populations.
This ECE-led project will build capacity in poor and low-income economies for the implementation of international commercial quality standards and sanitary and phytosanitary measures for agricultural products. The project will utilise the expertise of the ECE in the development and practical use of quality standards in the region and worldwide. The project will be jointly executed with Regional Commissions and will draw upon the expertise of ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA on agricultural trade in the respective regions. The project will also take advantage of the expertise of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who will collaborate on the project and provide technical assistance. Other international and national agencies, including FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius and UNIDO, are also expected to collaborate.
Objective:
To improve ability of low-income agrarian economies to implement international standards for commercial agricultural products and thus improve their competitiveness in international markets.
Expected accomplishments:
- Increased knowledge of agricultural quality standards and understanding of the importance of strengthening of the importance of strengthening the institutional and technical infrastructure for their implementation and use, and of establishing related systems of conformity assessment (importing countries normally require certificates of conformity with applicable standards from relevant institutions in the exporting country)
- Strengthened regional networks of national and international counterparts from the ministries responsible for trade, agriculture, and technical regulations and standards for commercial agricultural products, as well as from producers’ associations and/or cooperatives of farmers, export associations, consumers’ associations and chambers of commerce
Implementation status:
This project began implementation in mid-2008. Activities in the first year of the project will include the preparation of country-assessment papers on the basis of a initial project survey, and the development of "hands-on" regional training courses. A website on agricultural standards will be established by UNECE to provide information support to the project.
