Driving safe trade solutions worldwide

A new book on sanitary and phytosanitary gaps from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) highlights ways to support farmers, processors, traders and governments in developing countries to access global markets 

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) gaps in many developing countries block exports. For small-scale farmers, producers, traders and governments, meeting international food safety, animal and plant health standards clears the path to the global marketplace. That helps lead to ‘safe trade.’

A new book by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) shows how people’s livelihoods can be transformed when they get the skills they need to meet international standards and gain access to higher-value markets.  

That was the case for Chandra Kala Rai, who heads up a women’s ginger cooperative in eastern Nepal and features in the book.  

“Our women’s group produces a truckload of ginger. Ginger farming has supported us to save for the future of our children. Field schools helped us reduce losses and increase our incomes. Now with the washing plant, we are so happy,” said Chandra Kala Rai, a member of the Ginger Cooperative Female Group in Nepal

Together with around 2,000 small-holder farmers in the area, the cooperative struggled with low yields, pests and diseases, and post-harvest losses as high as 90%. Following a project by the STDF and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), post-harvest losses dropped by 30% and farmers saw their incomes grow by over 60%. A new ginger washing facility is now supporting up to 8,000 ginger-producing households, and washed ginger is being exported to Bangladesh, Europe and India. 

When trade works for more people, alongside giving a boost to the economy, it drives up incomes in poor areas, promotes domestic food security, protects the environment, improves public health and empowers women. The 25 stories in the book highlight good practice models of how STDF projects and project preparation grants work in practice in food safety, animal and plant health, and cross-cutting SPS areas, with significant results.  

“Thanks to STDF support, projects have helped women shrimp farmers in Bangladesh, ginger cooperatives in Nepal, cabbage producers in Senegal and flower sector workers in Uganda to boost revenues and support their families. Worldwide, STDF’s partnership continues to transform people’s trade and livelihood opportunities, sustaining the development impact at the heart of the UN’s agenda to 2030,” adds Melvin Spreij, the Head of STDF.

The booklet covers cross-cutting sanitary and phytosanitary themes, as well as food safety, plant health, and animal health.

Since 2004, with donor assistance, STDF’s 85 projects – most of them in the world’s poorest countries – have championed public-private partnerships and connected people to the latest technical know-how across agricultural value chains. Over US$25 million has also been mobilized from other sources to take forward innovative models and scale-up the impact.

For more information and to download a copy of the book visit the STDF website here.