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FTAA.sme/inf/109
August 12, 2003

Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat

FTAA – CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON SMALLER ECONOMIES

PARAGUAY

BASIC FORMAT FOR THE PRESENTATION OF SPECIFIC PROJECT PROFILES UNDER THE
HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION PROGRAM – RELATED TO AGRICULTURE
 

1. PROJECT TITLE
   
   IMPROVEMENT OF PLANT PROTECTION IN PARAGUAY IN SUPPORT OF AGRICULTURAL TRADE POLICY
   
   
2. EXECUTING AGENCY
   
   The Government of Paraguay through the Ministry of Agriculture – Plant Protection Division (Address: Ruta Mcal. Estigarribia Km. 10 – San Lorenzo; Tel.: 595-21 – 570 513/574 343; E-mail: ddvsec@telesurf.com.py)
   
   
3. BACKGROUND
   
   The objective of the government of Paraguay is to improve the level and quality of life of the country's population by implementing a development model that is supported by private initiative and eliminating the obstacles and structural inefficiencies in the country's production system and institutions so as to attain a sustained increase in real GDP and reduce poverty and inequity.
   
   To achieve this objective, the country's domestic policies need to be adjusted and harmonized in light of the situation of the world economy, particularly with respect to the international trade in goods of plant origin, so that the country can become more competitive in this age of globalization and develop the genuine, consistent strength needed to consolidate its economic and social development.
   
    
4. RATIONALE
   
   The ongoing innovations underway at the national and international level translate into huge challenges and demands for the agriculture sector.
   
   Modernization and increased competitiveness, specialization in production, the credibility of phytosanitary information systems, effective insertion in world trade, and environmental sustainability and the improvement of rural living conditions are all objectives the government urgently needs to pursue with the broad participation of the farming sector and in order to increase the country's plant-origin exports.
   
   In order to achieve these objectives, the country's sectoral strategies must be brought in line with its general economic strategy, and policies and means must be harmonized.
   
   The limited availability of public resources, which are increasingly tied to macroeconomic objectives, means that procedures need to be optimized and priority needs to be awarded to the objectives and targets regarding innovation, adjustment to demands, and the improvements in public administration (services and income) that are designed to facilitate the country's adjustment to the demands of international trade, which should result in improvements in the country's economic and social indicators.
   
   The implementation of a project for the IMPROVEMENT OF PLANT PROTECTION IN PARAGUAY IN SUPPORT OF AGRICULTURAL TRADE POLICY, as presented in this profile, by providing the necessary skills and security for achieving the proposed goals, will enable efficient mechanisms to be employed to unify the policy-generating process as a way to set up the market-based incentive system for the modernization and improved competitiveness of agriculture, which will promote investment projects.
   
   The strengthening of management capacity and the implementation of components of plant protection in order to sustain, in a consistent manner, the role it should play, will result in growing investment in international trade, which could sustain the Paraguayan economy and the feasibility of the country's plant health system so that the major challenges this poses in the agricultural sector can be met.
   
    
5. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT.
   
    General Objective
   
   To modernize and strengthen the Plant Protection Division (PPD) in order to optimize its role and contribute towards the design of policies that are socially and environmentally in harmony with the domestic economy and that promote the precepts of international trade-oriented plant protection in order to further effective development in the agricultural sector in a sustainable way.
   
   Specific Objectives
   
   
   • To strengthen and develop skills in order to improve analysis and risk assessment.
     
     
   • To develop plant health emergency programs and campaigns for handling mitigation measures in the case of pest risks.
     
     
   • To develop programs to establish pest-free areas, zones, or farms by implementing sound agricultural practices and healthy food production systems.
     
     
   • To provide training to improve the monitoring, identification, and diagnosis of quarantine pests (fruit fly, soybean cyst nematode, sirex noctilio)
     
     
   • To establish an integral information system that serves as a support tool for the work of the public and private agents operating in the sector.
     
     
   • To provide training to technicians in order to bring the country's legislation on plant protection in line with the international norms in force.
     
     
   • To provide technicians with the basic knowledge for understanding the implications of trade relations between industrialized countries and countries with small economies, such as Paraguay.
     
    
6. INPUTS
   
   The resources required for the project are as follows:
   
    

   COMPONENTS	RESOURCES REQUIRED
   EXPERTS For the diagnosis, formulation, and design of the Ministry of Agriculture's Plant Protection Policy System	1 Expert in plant quarantine for 10 months 1 Expert in plant health certification for 10 months 1 Expert in monitoring and supervision systems for 10 months 1 Expert in geographical information systems for 10 months 1 Expert in computing for the implementation of a database and registration systems for 10 months 1 Expert in international trade for 8 months
   Training PPD Technicians	Master's degree level - 4 in plant protection - 2 in geographical information systems - 2 in international trade Specialization courses abroad - 6 courses lasting 2 to 6 months Local specialization courses - 4 courses lasting 1 to 3 months International seminars - 6 international seminars per year National seminars - 6 national seminars per year
   Support for participation in agricultural negotiations	Travel and accommodation expenses for on average 5 technicians to attend 5 international meetings per year
   Support for participation in internships in plant health services	Travel and accommodation expenses for on average 5 technicians to participate in 5 international meetings per year
   Support in equipment and materials	GPS equipment with its corresponding software - 5 Units - Subscription to SIG input supplier services (photographs or satellite charts) Computer equipment (PC and Lap Top) - 5 units PLOTTER printers 1 unit Internet service contracts - 3 service contracts FAX equipment - 2 units Digital cameras - 2 units Photocopiers - 2 units Scanners - 5 units External CD - RW - 5 units Computer inputs (inks for printers, paper for printing maps, paper of various kinds) Subscriptions to data suppliers, bibliographies, specialized magazines
   Support for the formulation of agricultural policies and trade policies	The hiring of international consultants to perform studies The organization of seminars and forums on agricultural policies and trade policies Seminars and workshops on risk analysis

   
   
   

7. EXPECTED RESULTS
   
   
   • The Plant Protection Division will have qualified staff and adequate infrastructure and equipment for performing its duties and responding opportunely and efficiently to the requirements stipulated by the upper echelons of national government.
     
     
   • The Plant Protection Division will act as the main interlocutor regarding plant protection for the government entities involved in the development of the agricultural sector.
     
     
   • The Plant Protection Division of the General Planning Division (DGP) will strengthen and increase its management skills in the area of development and international trade policies, and these will be made to coincide with the precepts in force worldwide.
     
     
   • The Plant Protection Division will set up information systems that become an essential input in the decision-making of public and private economic agents.
     
     
   • The technicians of the Plant Protection Division will be trained to efficiently undertake activities related to plant protection and international trade.
     
   
   
8. Duration of the Technical Cooperation:
   20 months in total.