Permanent Commission of Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Dominican Republic Senate  reactives the socialization process SENASIA Bill of Law

Permanent Commission of Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Dominican Republic Senate  reactives the socialization process SENASIA Bill of Law

Permanent Commission of Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Dominican Republic Senate  reactives the socialization process SENASIA Bill of Law

The IICA Delegation in the Dominican Republic was invited to participate on July 19th  in a meeting of the Permanent Commission for Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Senate of the Republic, chaired by the Senator, Mr. Amílcar Romero, with the Participation of a high level representation of the Agricultural Health and Food Safety authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and of technical cooperation agencies involved with the subject in the country (IICA, FAO and OIRSA) to discuss the situation and course in the Congress of the Republic of the draft bill that creates the Agricultural Health Services and Agro-Food Safety (SENASIA).

The Senator, Mr. Amílcar Romero, after making a slight introduction on the background of the project, in which he informed that the draft was approved by the Senate of the Dominican Republic, who sent it to the Chamber of Deputies for discussion and approval, he explained that the main objective of the meeting was to initiate a process of reactivation and reintroduction of the «Draft bill that creates the National Service of Agricultural Health and Agro-Food Safety» -SENASIA.

The initiative came from a proposal to strengthen and integrate the Agricultural Health and Food Safety (SAIA) services that had been operating since 2005, within the fundamental objectives of the Agricultural Sector Reform Process (Executive Order 278-05, of May 6, 2005), which followed the dictates of the National Development Strategy 2030 (Act 1-2012, January 25, 2012) and finally, led to the preparation of three draft laws; Draft legislation in which IICA has been involved, already directly contributing to the elaboration and consultation process of the draft Phytosanitary Protection laws and the Proposed Draft Law on Zoosanitary Protection, prepared and presented to the Ministry of Agriculture with the Support of the Project for Strengthening the International Quarantine in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, implemented by IICA with funds from the Food for Progress Program of the Government of the United States of America, in the case of the Preliminary Draft of the Law that creates the SENASIA, where IICA has been contributing with its support and participation in the process of discussion and socialization that has been developing with the different sectors of the official and private sector involved, with the leadership of the Permanent Commission for Agricultural and Agroindustrial Affairs of the Senate.

The Senator Romero requested the technical cooperation of the international organizations such as IICA, FAO and OIRSA to support the new process of reactivation and socialization of the project by the Congress of the Republic, with the commitment of the Representative of IICA, Ing. Frank Lam to continue with the process of support and facilitation that has been offered by the institution of technical cooperation in the country to these initiatives.