Title of the activity
Advanced Agriculture Notification Workshop
Activity Type
Virtual workshop - Global
Description
The Workshop is organized by the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) in cooperation with the Agriculture and Commodities Division (AGCD). It is a Level 3 specialized training activity implemented within the WTO Progressive Learning Strategy and it represents the highest level of learning among WTO training activities.
The Workshop offers specialized training to capital-based government officials with direct responsibility in the preparation and/or analysis of notifications under the Agreement on Agriculture. The objectives are:
1) to enable Members to fulfil their notification obligations in the area of agriculture in a timely manner in line with the Notification Requirements and Formats adopted by the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) as well as other transparency obligations established by the relevant Ministerial Decisions; and
2) to increase the capacity of Members to participate in the review of notifications in the CoA.
The workshop will be organized in two phases.
• The first phase will take place virtually from 20-22 October 2021. In this phase participants will have an introduction to the notification requirements with an in-depth look at the notification requirements in the area of domestic support, one of the most complex notifications in the Agreement on Agriculture. Participants will also learn how to reply to the Export Competition Questionnaire forming part of the Nairobi Export Competition Decision. The obligation to reply to the Questionnaire has become universally applicable to all Members from 2021 after the expiry of the 5-year grace period foreseen in footnote 17 of the Nairobi Decision. The participants will be able to practice the preparation of notifications using the new online agriculture notifications system (AG-IMS).
• The second phase of this activity will be carried out in-person, in Geneva in the month of September 2022. Only those participants that would successfully complete the first phase of the workshop, and who also prepare a draft of at least one outstanding notifications (or furnish the data/information necessary for the preparation of such a notification) will be able to participate in the second phase. The development of the second phase will be subject to the sanitary situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. A separate activity request will be submitted for this phase.
The Workshop combines lectures from AGCD officials, practical exercises and case studies and provides a platform to discuss specific technical issues faced by the participants in preparing and analyzing agriculture notifications.
The Workshop will be delivered in English.
The Workshop offers specialized training to capital-based government officials with direct responsibility in the preparation and/or analysis of notifications under the Agreement on Agriculture. The objectives are:
1) to enable Members to fulfil their notification obligations in the area of agriculture in a timely manner in line with the Notification Requirements and Formats adopted by the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) as well as other transparency obligations established by the relevant Ministerial Decisions; and
2) to increase the capacity of Members to participate in the review of notifications in the CoA.
The workshop will be organized in two phases.
• The first phase will take place virtually from 20-22 October 2021. In this phase participants will have an introduction to the notification requirements with an in-depth look at the notification requirements in the area of domestic support, one of the most complex notifications in the Agreement on Agriculture. Participants will also learn how to reply to the Export Competition Questionnaire forming part of the Nairobi Export Competition Decision. The obligation to reply to the Questionnaire has become universally applicable to all Members from 2021 after the expiry of the 5-year grace period foreseen in footnote 17 of the Nairobi Decision. The participants will be able to practice the preparation of notifications using the new online agriculture notifications system (AG-IMS).
• The second phase of this activity will be carried out in-person, in Geneva in the month of September 2022. Only those participants that would successfully complete the first phase of the workshop, and who also prepare a draft of at least one outstanding notifications (or furnish the data/information necessary for the preparation of such a notification) will be able to participate in the second phase. The development of the second phase will be subject to the sanitary situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. A separate activity request will be submitted for this phase.
The Workshop combines lectures from AGCD officials, practical exercises and case studies and provides a platform to discuss specific technical issues faced by the participants in preparing and analyzing agriculture notifications.
The Workshop will be delivered in English.
Venue
Switzerland
Trade topic
Agriculture
Start Date
End Date
Duration (days)
3
selection process
The WTO Secretariat will select a total of twenty-five (25) candidates for the Workshop from among the Members and Observers that are eligible to benefit from training and technical cooperation activities of the WTO. The participation of these twenty-five (25) selected candidates will be financed by the WTO for the second phase of the training (i.e. a return economy class ticket, a terminal expenses allowance, daily subsistence allowance, including accommodation for the duration of the workshop). An additional five (5) candidates, who could participate solely in the first phase (virtual) of the training and will be kept in a waitlist for the second in-person phase of the Workshop, will be selected. They may be contacted to participate in the second phase of the Workshop if there was a space created by the absence of a candidate from among the twenty-five (25) selected candidates; the participation of eligible wait-listed candidates in the second phase will also be financed by the WTO. Interested parties need to submit the application form distributed to Members via the invitation letter to this event. The deadline to submit applications is 4 October 2021.
Pre-requisite
In order to maximize the impact of this workshop, candidates who have completed the WTO E-Learning course on the Agreement on Agriculture (or attended a face-to-face course on this subject) will be given priority in the selection process. Similarly, candidates from Members' with low levels of notification compliance and from those Members and Observers that have not benefited from this course in recent editions will be given priority.
Target Audience
Government officials
Language
English
Key Result
1. Government officials are implementing WTO Agreements and fully realising Members' rights and obligations
Key Output
1.1: Government officials have enhanced knowledge about WTO Agreements, trade policy formulation and conduct of trade negotiations
Programme
Invited Members and Observers:
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain, Kingdom of
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia, Plurinational State of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Chinese Taipei
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
Côte dʼIvoire
Cuba
Curaçao
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong, China
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea, Republic of
Kuwait, the State of
Kyrgyz Republic
Lao Peopleʼs Democratic Republic
Lebanese Republic
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Macao, China
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova, Republic of
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tomé and Principe
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Syrian Arab Republic
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
The Gambia
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe