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Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency

(CAHFSA)

WG, RPPO contact

   Ms. Juliet GOLDSMITH

   Plant Health Specialist
  Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA)
  Letitia Vriesdelaan #10 Paramaribo, Suriname
  Phone: + 597 422 546, Ext 206
  Mobile: + 597-725-2922 or +5977444043
  Email: [email protected]
  Alternate Email: [email protected]
  Preferred languages: English
  Website: https://www.cahfsa.org/

The Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) was established as an Inter-Governmental Organization through an Agreement among Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The original Agreement was signed on March 12, 2010, and was replaced by the Revised CAHFSA Agreement on February 25, 2011.In October 2015, CAHFSA became fully operational, with its headquarters located in Paramaribo, Suriname.

CAHFSA is overseen by a Board of Directors, with each Member State appointing a representative specializing in the areas of focus of CAHFSA, along with a representative from the CARICOM Secretariat. The day-to-day operations of CAHFSA are managed by a Chief Executive Officer and three Department Heads: Animal Health, Food Safety, and Plant Health.

In April 2018, during the 13th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, CAHFSA was recognized as the Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO) for the Caribbean Region. The Caribbean Plant Health Directors’ Forum, which consists of the heads of National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) in the Caribbean, operates as the RPPO's Technical Committee.

MISSION

Enhancing agricultural health and food safety systems to facilitate trade

Member countries:

Member States:
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

Associate Members:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

Objectives

The primary objectives of CAHFSA are to:

  • establish an effective regime of sanitary and phytosanitary measures pursuant to Article 57(1) (k) of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in support of the goals of the Community Agriculture Policy as set out in Article 56 of the Treaty.
  • provide regional and national support to the Community in the establishment, management and operations of their national agricultural health and food safety systems as they relate to the sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the SPS Agreement; and
  • execute on behalf of those countries such actions and activities that can be more effectively and efficiently executed through a regional mechanism.
Structure:
PUBLICATIONS:
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Guidelines for Pest Risk Analysis of Imported Plants and Plant Products
Guidelines for Preparing Market Access Proposals