WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed Canada’s donation: “Compliance with international standards enhances food security in both importing and exporting countries by facilitating trade in agricultural products. The long-term impact of STDF-related programs will benefit producers, traders and governments along global and regional value chains, helping them raise export revenues, income levels and living standards. The STDF will continue to facilitate inclusive and safe trade worldwide, in close partnership with Canada.”
Heath MacDonald, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said: “The Government of Canada will continue to support global efforts to adopt international standards for food safety and animal and plant health. Investing in larger-scale capacity building projects, like the Standards and Trade Development Facility, will help improve food security, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable economic growth around the world.”
Beyond participation in the STDF Working Group, Canadian officials have shared expertise to strengthen the delivery of STDF projects. This includes innovative projects to pilot the use of Codex Guidelines on voluntary third-party assurance programmes (vTPA) in Africa and Central America for more effective risk-based food safety systems. For instance, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) hosted a learning visit for regulators from Honduras and Belize in 2024, and co-organized webinars in March and April 2025 attended by more than 100 experts, many in Africa, to share insights from Canada’s risk-based food safety model. Additionally, the CFIA will host a learning visit for regulators from Rwanda and Uganda in September 2025, as a follow up to the April 2025 webinar and to further share information on this model.
This donation underscores Canada’s major and long-standing commitment to the STDF’s programme goal, bringing its total contributions to CHF 7.6 million since 2005.
Canada has contributed over CHF 15 million to WTO trust funds over the past 23 years.
The STDF is a global multi-stakeholder partnership that promotes safe and inclusive trade. 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 Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the WTO, which houses and manages the partnership.
In support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the STDF responds to evolving SPS needs, drives inclusive trade and contributes to sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, food security and resilience to climate change.
Developing economies and least developed countries are encouraged to apply to the STDF for SPS project and project preparation grants. Information on how to apply is available here.
To date, the STDF has funded over 260 safe trade projects benefiting developing and least developed country economies.
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