The 29th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 1 November 2007. H.E. Professor Dr. Thira Sutabutra, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperative of Thailand chaired the 29th AMAF with Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam as the Vice-Chairman.
At this Meeting, the Ministers expressed satisfaction on the progress made in the ASEAN projects on food, agriculture fisheries and forestry. The establishment of the ASEAN Shrimp Alliance (ASA) was endorsed by the Ministers to enhance the ASEAN’s capability in responding to the challenges in the international trade of shrimp and shrimp products.
ASA comprises the government officials and the private sector. The scope of ASA covers the areas of (i) information sharing and web-based information tools; (ii) formulation/ harmonization of shrimp production standards among the ASEAN countries for international trade; (ii) creating the platform for dialogues and consultations among experts and the private sector, and (iv) networking with the existing private sector’s initiatives on shrimp production and trade. The benefits that the ASEAN Member Countries will gain from the unity of ASA include the favorable outcomes from negotiations on international trade issues, prevention of non-tariff barrier, and also improvement of their capacity through the mobilization of resources and expertise among the ASEAN member countries.
The Department of Fisheries, Thailand in cooperation with U.S. FDA and the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) conducted the training workshop on USFDA/JIFSAN Train-The Trainers on Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqPs) on May, 5-9, 2008 at Sofitel Centara Grand, Bangkok. This training workshop aimed to increase the capability of Thai DOF officers on best management practices for shrimp farms and farm auditing. The practices are along the line of U.S. law and regulations on Food Safety. This training workshop was conducted both in the lecture room and on-site for the field practices.
The Thai Department of Fisheries conducted a training workshop on shrimp farm auditing procedures for CoC/GAP along the system of ISO/IEC Guide 65 ISO 9001:2000 for Thai DOF officers. The Training Workshop was conducted for three batches, during April,21-25 and May, 12-16 and May, 26-30, 2008 at DOF Head Office in Bangkok.
