Sponsored by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
The project Establishing and harmonizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory regimes across the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of the African Union (AU) is premised on the knowledge that a key barrier to adoption of the AU SPS Policy Framework is the human capital knowledge, support, and leadership in implementation (particularly regional and continental policy instruments at national level), oversight, understanding and expressing value, streamlining across RECs and within member states, and developing a coalition of support from key stakeholders for the adoption and implementation. This project seeks to develop such leaders through training and support to combine the overarching knowledge and skills with the connections necessary to be change-agents at the REC and national level.
The project aims to recruit 24 fellows from the African continent to work with USDA FAS and MSU faculty to build and streamline efforts within the RECs toward adoption of a unified sanitary and phytosanitary framework. The general design shall comprise 16 members who shall serve to be the functional support system and implementation guides for the other 8 fellows who will receive in-depth training and support for a period of 12 weeks. The network of fellows will work together in Washington DC to build in-depth knowledge of the scope of the program and discuss with supporting agencies the program plan, SPS issues, trade, and sustainability. The 8 technical fellows will travel to MSU and work with mentors to build an implementation plan for their REC, attend sessions on SPS and policy education, and develop a research agenda before returning to their home countries. Mentors will make a return visit to support the partnership and research and work shops will be held to focus on the fellows work and bring stakeholders together to develop paths for sustainability and adoption of a harmonized SPS framework in Africa for better and safer agricultural trade.
Contacts:
General Program Point of Contact:
Julie Sims - Project Manager
jsims@international.msstate.edu
Principal Investigator:
Margaret Khaitsa - Project Lead
mkhaitsa@cvm.msstate.edu
USDA FAS Contact:
Cara Conley - International Program Specialist, Team Lead: Fellowship and Global Programs
cara.conley@usda.gov
News and Links:
MSU receives $974K to support scientific exchanges, African Union food safety programs
African Union:
African Continental Free Trade Area
Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Understanding the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Social Media:
#SPSFellowship
