The latest annual report from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), launched on 2 August, highlights the continued efforts by developing and least developed countries to strengthening their food safety, animal and plant health capacity despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on health systems and caused enormous disruption to the global economy, the report notes
Digital opportunities and solutions to support economic recovery and longer-term resilience against future shocks also featured strongly in STDF’s project work.
“Trade is about people – about making their lives better,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a video to mark the launch of the report.
“The Standards and Trade Development Facility works to enable small-scale farmers to meet international health and safety standards for their products.
This opens the door to new markets and means higher incomes and more jobs and economic opportunities, particularly for women. It means safer food, lower trade times and costs, and greater capacity to protect plant and animal health capacity,” she added.