Description of the project and Services provided:
The specific aim of this programme is to supply the project with a technical team to assist the National Department of Agricultural Health and Quality (SENASA) and enable it to:
1. Redesign the organisation at institutional level by reinforcing the human resources training policy
2. Reinforce control , inspection and certification systems in the agrifood export chains
3. Improve the information-processing system by implementing easier traceability and health-inspection system management and enabling administrative and technical procedures to be standardised.
Services provided:
- Support the human-resources training policy by fitting classrooms and multipurpose rooms with audio-visual systems and e-learning technology at 4 Regional Training Centres and at the National Training Centres in Buenos Aires and Azul
- Organise workshops and broadcast activities to enable SENASA to cooperate more easily with the other public and private actors in the agrifood chains, in order to increase its joint responsibility and involvement with health and traceability programmes
- Technical assistance and drawing-up of studies to ensure the adequacy of the plant- and animal-health standards applied by SENASA
- Training in strategic planning of top staff at headquarters and at the Regional Centres
- Training of administrative staff at Regional and Local Centres, border crossings and headquarters in the new technical and administrative procedures subsequent to the redesign of the organisation
- Fitting out of the laboratories and training of their staff to increase their ability to diagnose diseases and identify residues in foodstuffs
- Strengthen surveillance and monitoring networks for the detection of exotic animal diseases and plant diseases
- Draw up protocols and procedures for the development of a monitoring and inspection system for veterinary and phytosanitary products
- Train technical staff and supply field equipment to ports, airports and border crossings to improve inspection and certification of agrifood imports and exports
- Increase Internet capacity to connect the headquarters with the laboratories and Regional and Local Centres
- Complement the computer equipment of the laboratories, Regional and Local Centres, and border crossings
- Develop specific software and the database required for efficient, up-to-date agrifood health and safety information
- Develop and implement computer systems which can be used by external users (extranet) to safely increase the flexibility of processes
- Improve and update the institute's webpage
- Support the SENASA information resource centre by increasing its bibliographical resources and access to e-libraries and computerising its services.
