CAN General Secretariat and Standards Application and Trade Promotion Fund (STDF) sign agreement for implementation of the Regional Phytosanitary Intelligence Center

In order to strengthen the prevention and management of pests in the countries of the Andean Community, prioritizing the FOC R4T, which attacks banana and plantain crops, the General Secretariat of the CAN and the Fund for the Application of Standards and the Promotion of Trade (STDF), signed an agreement for the implementation of the Regional Phytosanitary Intelligence Center. The cooperation granted by the STDF, made up of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank (WB), the World Organization for Animal Health (WHO) and the United Nations United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO) amounts to 1 million dollars. The agreement signed between the SGCAN and the STDF establishes the terms and conditions for the execution of the aforementioned regional platform, which will allow the generation of epidemiological information for taking actions in the event of a phytosanitary alert or emergency in the Andean Community. Furthermore, with the launch of the Regional Center for Phytosanitary Intelligence, the aim is to provide support to producers in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and to the phytosanitary authorities of these countries in making early decisions against outbreaks or incursions of pests, to form an international advisory network for pests of economic importance in the region and strengthen the technical capacities of officials from member countries in terms of surveillance, monitoring, risk and integrated pest management through training courses and exchange of experiences.