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Boosting agriculture in the Americas: ministers agree on 11 points

Food security, post-pandemic economic recovery, and boosting agrifood supply chains were some of the issues addressed in the meeting attended by 31 ministries of agriculture in the Americas.

During the meeting, 11 points were agreed upon to strengthen the agricultural sector and to stimulate the food trade between the countries of the region:

To strengthen the production of food and agricultural, forestry, fishing and aquaculture products in our countries, based on our confidence in the strategic role that the agrifood sector will play in reviving our economies and providing opportunities for progress.
Apply sanitary measures when necessary to protect the health and life of humans, animals and crops, without constituting a restriction or obstacle to international trade and the movement of food.
Affirm the importance of the risk analysis process in assessing, managing, and communicating risks relevant to the protection of public health, and in enabling safe national and international trade in food and agricultural products.
Commit to improving transparency and predictability in the establishment and adoption of new national health measures and protocols.
Strengthen the implementation of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (MSF), working collectively to improve shared understanding of its provisions, including scientific justification, regarding measures and protocols that protect human health, as well as agricultural health and food safety.
Reaffirm our commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) to facilitate trade, not to create unnecessary obstacles to trade, and to protect the health and safety of people by working collectively to strengthen the implementation of the Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Trade Facilitation.
Maintain the proper functioning of national and international markets and supply chains through the timely exchange of information on food availability, demand, and prices.
To continue supporting the participation of small and medium-scale agriculture, farming, fishing, and aquaculture in agrifood chains, especially during the pandemic and the subsequent period of economic recovery, through public policies, public and private investment, and financial management in the corresponding countries.
Reaffirm the importance of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as the relevant international bodies for the standardization of food safety and quality, and plant and animal health, committing to actively enable and facilitate regional participation in the work of these related bodies or subsidiary bodies.
Reaffirm our support for international technical cooperation, through multilateral organizations in agriculture such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and our determination to complement our efforts to develop capacity, innovation, inclusion and sustainability in the agricultural sector throughout the hemisphere, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Reiterate the importance of the cooperation between countries, in particular on issues that directly or indirectly affect the production, processing, and marketing of raw materials, food, agricultural inputs and/or technologies relevant to agricultural and food development.