Greater inclusion of stakeholders in the lead up to market negotiation

This project increased inclusion of stakeholders in the process of considering preferred and feasible risk management systems, particularly through the use of the tool for mapping pest management measures in the Production Chain. From the start of the project, progress was made in increasing the confidence of the NPPOs in engaging stakeholders in talks about Systems Approach for international trade. This confidence is traced back to the use of the tools and the value of discussions with other NPPOs in similar situations. Although the NPPOs in Beyond Compliance had met with stakeholders from industry in the past, the ability to engage on a complex topic such as Systems Approach was entirely new. The Vietnamese partners reported that a formal network has been formed in the dragon fruit industry, which did not exist prior to this project. The synergy with an IAEA/FAO project on area-wide control resulted in a clear understanding of the importance of “low pest prevalence” around the major production areas and the relationship of that to Systems Approach, particularly for the fruit fly pests.

Built confidence in trade negotiations

The project goal was to increase confidence and competence in trade negotiations. The project achieved an increase in capacity of relevant NPPO staff and stakeholders to put tools into use through the development of technical resources. The development of capacity in the use of Systems Approach tools has translated into increased confidence in negotiations. The Philippines NPPO staff now have greater confidence to approach trade partner NPPOs with their own ideas and to request review of some existing agreements which appear to them to be too trade restrictive. The Thai partners in the NPPO and Standards Institute are showing enthusiasm for Systems Approach as a way to introduce better practices for thrips control in the orchid cut flower industry and minimise the problems due to methyl bromide use. This is a big shift from anxiety about convincing stakeholders to fully participate in project assignments to a sense of confidence about the future of trade if interceptions are going to be reduced. In the Malaysian context, increased confidence and competence from experiences with the case study led the NPPO to consider accreditation of the Systems Approach as a key approach for production under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

More opportunities for trade in a phytosanitary risk context

The Pest Risk Management component of this project potentially enables a greater openness to new phytosanitary trade agreements based on Systems Approaches. Because of limited capacities, developing economies in the region have approached international standards, particularly those related to Pest Risk Management, from the perspective of meeting importing country requirements. A systematic framework for application of Systems Approach allows phytosanitary and market access personnel to understand contributions of each individual management measure to the reduction of risk. The project already changed experiences for one NPPO with additional trade proposals arising since the case study. Simply using the  versatile and effective method to map out and model pest risk management in trade, one equivalence proposal was agreed within weeks (Philippines to Korea). Such a transparent, mutually agreed framework for understanding how much each phytosanitary measure – or measures in combination – reduces the estimated risk can accelerate the trade negotiations.

Consolidated pest risk management in the region

The project outcomes can address a range of common challenges in market access negotiations and agreements for trade based on single risk-mitigation measures. Systems Approaches, a combination of integrated measures, may address many of these issues, but at the same time can be complex to develop and negotiate due to structural and quantitative uncertainty about the system. Uncertainty can be managed using probabilistic modelling, thus the project implemented a Control Point/Bayesian Network modelling approach for a set of case studies in SE Asia to show real quantitative evidence of efficacy of measures. It is not necessary to have such a tool to develop a Systems Approach; however, experience and a recent global review concluded that many NPPOs either lack experience with Systems Approach or do not have confidence in its application. This tool clarified thinking around proposed risk reduction measures, proxy indicators for risk reduction (e.g. performance of carrying out the measures) and direct verification measures (e.g. reduced population of the pest) and eased comparisons of similar pest risks, thereby developing a more robust pest risk management in the region.