A high-level conference on the Better Training for Safer Food programme (BTSF) held in Brussels on 18-19 November emphasised the benefits of BTSF activities and highlighted effective dissemination as key to training success. It also stressed the need for increased cooperation with all stakeholders in order to ensure high-quality training with a strong impact.
The event provided the first forum for discussion of the Commission's recently-adopted working document on the BTSF programme. The document identifies the challenges BTSF is facing and a series of possible actions to overcome them. The conference analysed the document's proposals in terms of BTSF's core training and actions taken in Africa on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues within the Better Training for Safer Food in Africa programme (BTSF Africa).
Around 180 delegates attended from the EU, African and other third countries, African Regional Economic Communities (REC), EU and African Union (AU) institutions and specialist offices, international standard-setting bodies, academia and other stakeholders. Participants were addressed by EU Commissioner for Health and Consumers, John Dalli and AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Rhoda Peace Tumusiime. Other key guests were Hon Sabine Laruelle, Belgian Minister for SMEs, the Self-Employed, Agriculture and Scientific Policy and Hon (Prof) Peter Nelson Mwanza, Malawian Minister of Agriculture.
Commissioner John Dalli said: "Better Training for Safer Food has been a considerable success since its launch but we cannot rest on our laurels. A lot of work has already been done in terms of building for the future and the conference represents an excellent opportunity to gather the views of all stakeholders for further engagement and development of the programme. The benefits of the kind of training offered by BTSF are clear and we must ensure that it is well equipped to face the challenges of the coming years."
On the specific BTSF Africa programme, Commissioner Tumusiime underscored "the centrality of SPS in the overall food chain in Africa".
Training challenges
In 2008, an intermediate assessment of BTSF was carried out. It aimed to assess the impact of the training on participants' work, to learn more about the implementation of training and its strengths and weaknesses and to obtain recommendations for the future.
Based on the findings of the intermediate assessment, the Commission has recently drafted a staff working document. It proposes specific actions that will help BTSF successfully overcome the challenges. Suggested actions are divided into medium-short term (i.e. actions to be completed by the end of 2013) and long-term (i.e. to be completed after 2014). The former include actions such as:
- A study to accurately estimate the demand for BTSF training,
- A pilot project to set up an e-learning tool for basic-level training,
- Increasing training output through closer cooperation,
- Reinforcing the train-the-trainer approach in the selection process.
The long-term actions envisaged include among other things:
- The implementation of e-learning for basic-level training,
- The introduction of basic- and advanced-level courses for all subjects,
- The organisation of international expert meetings to reflect on prioritisation of needs,
- The establishment of a summer school to increase availability of highly-qualified tutors.
The short-medium-term actions identified in the Staff Working Document will not entail a budgetary increase beyond the annual amount of €15million stipulated in Communication (2006) 519, which was published in 2006 and explored options to better organise long-term training. Any eventual increase relates to the longer term and will be subject to a prior cost-benefit analysis.
Final conclusions
The discussions enabled the conference to arrive at various final conclusions. As concerns the standard BTSF activity, it was emphasised that it must continue due to the considerable benefits which the knowledge and expertise it provides can bring to increasing consumer protection and fostering trade.
The conference felt that strategies laid down in the Staff Working Document must be successfully implemented to respond to challenges ahead. Moreover dissemination was pinpointed as a key factor in ensuring the success of BTSF.
Stronger collaboration with national authorities is needed to identify needs, ensure training quality, impacts and dissemination. Continued coordination with international organisations and other stakeholders is also seen as vital and synergies should be sought with similar training efforts by other organisations where appropriate.
As regards BTSF Africa its outcomes received a very high appraisal and the referential document produced within the programme was recognised by international bodies as an excellent training tool for helping countries to implement international standards. Representatives of African RECs agreed that the document could serve as a possible basis for mutual recognition.
A need was emphasised for RECs and the African Union Commission to strengthen their capacity to coordinate harmonisation and application of common principles at national level. The necessity of building on regional work in the field to increase a sense of ownership and sustainability was underlined and steps in this direction could involve the private sector. Continued coordination with development partners was also strongly advocated.
All of this has contributed to high expectations for future programmes focusing on intra-African trade and regional integration.
Various documents related to the conference will be published below in due course
