It was approved unanimously by the 22 senators present, after hearing the favorable report that the commission of Agriculture rendered
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, May 2019 (IICA). On May 15, the project created by the National Service for Agricultural Health and Agri-Food Safety (SENASIA) was approved by the Senate on second reading. The law was created with the purpose of dedicating itself to the protection, control, vigilance and supervision of plant health, animal health, and the safety of agri-foods in the primary production phase.
At the end of last year, the Permanent Commission on Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Senate opened the debate table to officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and International Organizations, as advisory institutions to join efforts in the development of the proposed. SENASIA Law will build an autonomous and decentralized structure of the public sector that oversees the issues of Agricultural Health and Food Safety.
IICA collaborated with the revision of the bill by presenting, in writing, the comments on the legislative piece, in October 2018, to Senator Amirca Romero, president of the commission and author of the piece, in the framework of an ordinary meeting.
The SENASIA law contemplates the application and supervision of compliance with the legal and regulatory provisions regarding plant health, animal health and food safety. The bill, which was approved unanimously by the senators, will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for its evaluation.
More Information: Gaudy Suzaña, Specialist in Agricultural Health and Food Safety, gaudy.suzana@iica.int
