Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), US
Deadline: August 9th, 2024
Grant:$2,000,000
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is a trade agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports. FAS seeks to liberalize global agricultural trade by supporting the global development of a strong rules-based trading system. Building on years of collaboration, USDA partners with the African Union (AU) to help develop and operationalize continental Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) systems, to include collaboration with the Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO), the African Union Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC).
Supported projects will further the implementation of the AU SPS Policy Framework and Plant Health Strategy for Africa (PHSA) and will build on prior activities aligning pesticide regulatory guidelines, implementing electronic (ePhyto) certification, and risk-based border inspection. The projects will improve phytosanitary communication and knowledge to strengthen institutional capacity and coordination for plant health systems. Activities will boost risk- and science-based phytosanitary policies and standards that facilitate trade through the strengthening of, and collaboration with, AU-IAPSC and/or RECs.
This includes but is not limited to:
- Providing technical expertise in the implementation of trade facilitating AU-IAPSC and REC programs and activities
- Partnering with RECs to implement trade facilitating phytosanitary activities in support of the AU SPS Policy Framework, PHSA and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
- Expanding on ongoing work related to risk-based phytosanitary border inspection and ecertification through working with AU-IAPSC, RECs, and the AfCFTA Secretariat as appropriate
- Providing technical support to AU-IAPSC and connecting with other ongoing initiatives such as the African Phytosanitary Program
- Supporting the development of continental and regional phytosanitary guidelines and policies in partnership with AU-IAPSC and RECs
Read more about this opportunity here.