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Add to Preferred SourcesHigh-level representatives from West African fishery ministries and experts on WTO sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreements have come together to form the steering committee of a project to assist artisanal fisherfolk in gaining access to international markets. The project, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), provides technical assistance on SPS standards and value chains in the fishery sectors in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, and Senegal.
The steering committee was co-chaired by Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Minister of Fisheries of Côte d’Ivoire, Tidiane Boye, UNIDO Representative for Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, and Simon Padilla, Economic Affairs Officer of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), a global partnership that helps developing countries to gain and maintain access to markets by tackling sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) gaps, and promoting food safety, animal and plant health.
“This partnership is very important for Côte d’Ivoire,” said Adjoumani, “especially for the development of activities and the mobilization of resources related to the blue economy in West Africa.”
The Minister highlighted current achievements, which, he said, demonstrate the importance of collaboration on good practices, training activities and investment linkages to markets.
UNIDO’s Boye emphasized the strategic importance of the project for inclusive and sustainable industrial development, saying, “Mainstreaming international SPS standards, norms, and regulatory requirements ultimately optimize the benefits of nutritional food security, diversified value addition, and competitive trade.”
The STDF’s Padilla provided more detailed information on SPS standards, and said, “The project adheres to best practices that are fully in line with international requirements, with a clear focus on private sector participation, and especially on small fisherpeople and artisans.”
The delegations from Côte d’Ivoire Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal were provided with assurances about the length of and return on investment, as well as on scaling-up.
During a meeting that preceded the steering committee meeting, the country delegates drafted a joint communiqué that underlined the importance of artisanal value chains in the four target countries.
Original source: UNIDO
Published on 3 May 2018