Nearly thirty Pakistani government officials and agricultural industry representatives have completed a six-year US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sponsored training program. The graduation ceremony was held at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad presided by David Williams, Agriculture Counsellor US Embassy Islamabad, Muhammad Tariq Khan, Deputy Director Department of Plant Protection Karachi and Dr Babar Bajwa, CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International) Director Pakistan and West Asia.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), with support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has invested more than $4 million in this 6-year distance learning project initiative to support the Government of Pakistan's efforts to increase agricultural trade. The program's goal is to strengthen Pakistan's ability to comply with international trade rules to increase Pakistan's commodity exports, and help Pakistan prevent the importation of harmful plant diseases and pests.
Since 2011, USDA and partners, CABI and Texas A&M University, have joined forces to create a distance learning project to bolster Pakistan's sanitary and phytosanitary (also known as SPS) skills and knowledge. With interactive workshops supplemented by online training modules, the USDA SPS Distance Learning project is advancing Pakistan's adoption of international plant and animal health standards by training 30 Department of Plant Protection officials and other Pakistani agricultural professionals. The workshops and training modules focus on a range of topics, including pest-risk management, market access, and inspections.
"Proper regulation of exports and imports is a key to meet the demands of foreign buyers as well as protecting Pakistan's domestic agriculture and consumers. We are hopeful that these courses will serve as a resource for Pakistan's phytosanitary regulators," said Agriculture Counsellor David Williams during the ceremony.-PR
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