STDF Expands SPS Innovations to Boost Safe
Trade and Food Security in Developing Countries
Following World Food Safety Day on 7 June,
the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) has launched its 2025 Annual
Report, Accelerating Safe Trade: From Innovation to Scale. The report showcases
how investments in strengthening sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems are improving
food safety, facilitating trade and supporting sustainable development.
Key Highlights
·
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) launched its 2025
Annual Report, titled “Accelerating Safe Trade: From Innovation to Scale”,
following World Food Safety Day 2025.
·
The report marks the first year of implementation of the STDF Strategy
2025–2030, which aims to strengthen sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems
to support:
o Safe trade
o Food security
o Poverty reduction
o Sustainable economic growth
o Climate resilience
Strategic Focus Areas
·
The new strategy emphasizes:
o Public-private collaboration
o Regional partnerships
o Innovation and technology
o Investment in SPS systems
o Scaling successful SPS solutions
Scaling Successful SPS Innovations
ePhyto Solution
·
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto Solution,
supported by STDF, has become a major success story.
·
By the end of 2025:
o 96 countries were exchanging electronic phytosanitary
certificates.
o Trade efficiency improved.
o Administrative costs were reduced for governments
and businesses.
Biopesticide Registration in Africa
·
All 16 member states of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) adopted harmonized guidelines for biopesticide registration developed
through an STDF-supported initiative.
Key Results in 2025
Mali
·
Small-scale smoked fish producers:
o More than doubled their price premiums over
five years.
o Expanded exports to five West African countries.
Jamaica
·
Interceptions of hot pepper exports due to quarantine pests fell by 88%
over three years.
·
Market access for exporters improved significantly.
Papua New Guinea
·
A Premium Cocoa Assurance Protocol was introduced.
·
More than 1,950 farmers received training to produce export-quality
fine-flavour cocoa.
Global Impact
Across 33 countries:
·
53 SPS-related laws, regulations, policies and procedures were introduced or strengthened.
·
More than 8,000 public and private sector stakeholders received SPS-related
training.
Growing Demand for STDF Support
·
A record 380 applications for STDF assistance were received from developing
and least-developed countries in 2025.
·
This occurred despite a decline in global official development assistance.
STDF's "Triple Win"
The report highlights benefits for:
1. People in developing and least-developed
countries.
2. Businesses and private-sector actors engaged
in trade.
3. Consumers worldwide through safer food and
stronger health protections.
About STDF
The STDF is a partnership established by:
·
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
·
World Bank Group
·
World Health Organization (WHO)
·
World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
·
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Achievements Since Inception
·
STDF has funded more than 275 projects and project preparation grants
in developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Significance
The STDF Annual Report 2025 demonstrates
how investments in SPS systems, food safety, and agricultural standards can enhance
trade opportunities, improve livelihoods, strengthen food security, and support
sustainable development. The report underscores the importance of innovation, partnerships,
and scalable solutions in making global trade safer and more inclusive.
[ABS News Service/09.06.2026]
The report marks the first year
of implementation of the STDF Strategy 2025-2030. Building on the STDF's 20-year
history, the Strategy sets out a pathway to facilitate safe trade that contributes
to sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, food security and resilience
to climate change. A key element of the Strategy is deepening the focus on public-private
collaboration, regional partnerships, innovation and investment to scale up SPS
innovations that deliver greater impact.
"The STDF's approach stands
out as a proven, effective model for practical, innovative SPS solutions. Investment
in the STDF work is more critical than ever to help strengthen SPS systems, thereby
also ensuring the availability of safe food. I call on all partners to deepen our
collective efforts to deliver the STDF's safe trade impact into the future,"
said the STDF 2025 Working Group Chairperson, Marie-Luise Rau, Federal Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity, Germany.
"The WTO supports the STDF
Strategy for 2025-2030 and encourages current and prospective partners to back the
STDF's efforts so that more people around the world can benefit from safe and inclusive
trade," said WTO Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam.
A key theme of the report is
how SPS innovations developed with STDF support are being adopted and expanded.
In 2025, the STDF launched new work on scaling up and financing SPS innovations.
A Scaling Study examined pathways to replicate and expand successful approaches.
One of the best-known examples
is the International Plant Protection Convention's ePhyto Solution, piloted through
an STDF project with diverse public and private sector partners. By the end of 2025,
96 countries were exchanging electronic phytosanitary certificates, reducing costs
and improving efficiency for the public and private sector.
The report also highlights how
SPS innovations continue to generate impact beyond the life of individual projects.
Across Africa, for instance, all 16 member states of the Southern African Development
Community formally adopted harmonized guidelines for the registration of biopesticides,
guidelines that were developed through an STDF-supported regional initiative.
In 2025, STDF projects and knowledge
work contributed to improved SPS capacity and trade outcomes that made a meaningful
difference for people across developing countries.
Highlights include:
·
In Mali, small-scale producers of smoked
fish secured price premiums that more than doubled over five years, while exports
increased to five countries in West Africa.
·
In Jamaica, interceptions of hot pepper
exports due to the presence of quarantine pests declined by 88% over a three-year
period, improving access to export markets.
·
In Papua New Guinea, an innovative Premium
Cocoa Assurance Protocol was put in place, with more than 1,950 farmers equipped
with new skills to produce standards-compliant fine-flavour cocoa for export markets.
·
Across 33 countries, 53 SPS-related
laws, regulations, policies and processes were adopted or strengthened to facilitate
trade, while more than 8,000 public and private sector stakeholders were trained
on good practices to improve food safety, animal and plant health.
The report highlights the benefits
of the STDF's mutually beneficial partnership for people in developing and least
developed countries, the private sector and consumers globally, and underscores
the central role of development partners in its performance and success. It puts
a spotlight on the investment case for the STDF's catalytic role, building on the
findings of the World Bank's 2025 World Development Report, which recognizes the
role of standards as a springboard for development, growth and poverty reduction.
Demand for STDF support continued
to rise in 2025, with a record 380 applications from stakeholders in developing
and least-developed countries, amid a global decline in official development assistance.
Released in conjunction with
World Food Safety Day 2025, held under the theme "From burden to solutions
- safe food everywhere," the report documents a range of SPS innovations and
partnerships that support food safety objectives while facilitating trade.
The STDF is a global partnership
that brings together organizations working on trade, agriculture, health and development
to strengthen SPS capacity in developing countries and least developed countries.
It was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation
for Animal Health (WOAH) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which hosts and
manages the partnership.
Contributing to the United Nations'
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), STDF activities promote safe and inclusive
trade, while supporting sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, food security
and resilience to climate change.
Since its creation, the STDF
has funded more than 275 projects and project preparation grants benefiting developing
economies and LDCs.