The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are jointly proposing this virtual course entitled "Agriculture in International Trade Agreements" (AITA), which combines online content that can be self-managed by each student, complemented by live webinars on broad conceptual frameworks and approaches to understanding and addressing international agreements on agriculture and international agrifood trade in the Caribbean.

This course informs the treatment of agriculture in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and regional trade agreements (RTAs) and aims to support policy makers to develop and implement appropriate agricultural development and food security strategies.

   

Course Information Sheet:

Course Name:

Agriculture in International Trade Agreements (AITA) – special edition for CARICOM

Course type:

Free online subject to selection process and minimum requirements

Total duration of the course:

16 chronological hours to be taken in 4 weeks (4 to 5 hours per week).

Course modality and methodology:

The strategy used in this virtual course to share knowledge and exchange experiences is characterized by virtuality, with approximately 80% of the virtual activities asynchronous and 20% synchronous in nature. It is estimated that the time required for learning can vary between 4 to 5 hours per week, and it is advisable to hold 90-minute sessions 3 times per week.

The methodology selected for this virtual course contains three types of activities:

• Self-learning modules, with asynchronous modality:

Incluyes two online learning modules. These modules are developed through self-learning, being the participant's responsibility the construction of his/her own knowledge. They are structured in units for sequential exploration, i.e., once a topic has been completely reviewed, it is possible to access the next one. They will be delivered entirely online, combining self-paced teaching.

• Webinars:

3 webinar sessions and a forum for interaction among participants. The objective of these sessions is to strengthen the exchange of experiences. The webinars will include keynote presentations from experts from FAO, CARICOM Secretariat and other partner institutions.

• Discussion board:

A discussion board will be open to share experiences and reflections among participants during the 4 weeks of the course.

Duration of the course:

From April 26 to May 24, 2023.

Audience:

• Government officials and public servants involved in the implementation of trade-related public programs, initiatives, negotiations.
• Representatives of the private sector and academia.
• Representatives of international organizations and NGOs.

A selection process will be carried out for participants, who will be contacted by FAO Training.

General objective:

To provide tools that will enable participants to acquire and/or deepen their knowledge of international trade, and the main trade policy instruments related to agricultural trade for the Caribbean.

Specific objectives:

• To strengthen capacities for analyzing the international economic situation and policies related to international trade.
• To understand the different trade policy instruments, the functioning of the multilateral trade system and the development of mega trade agreements and the implications for the agricultural sector.
• To become familiar with new international trade issues, especially those related to agriculture that have an impact on the Caribbean.

Contents:

Activity	Contents	Duration (Hourly load)	Date and hour
Webinar 1	Course Presentation and opening remarks Keynote presentations on the Relevance of the WTO for agri-food trade.	90 minutes	Wednesday, April 26  8:00 am Belize / 9:00 Central Time-Jamaica / 10:00 Eastern Time-Guyana-Chile
Unit 1: World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)"	Lesson 1.1 - Agriculture in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO AoA provisions on Market Access Lesson 1.2 - The WTO AoA provisions on Domestic Support and Export Competition Lesson 1.3 - The WTO AoA implementation and the Doha Round negotiations	Lessons from April 26 to May 2, 2023
Unit 2 - Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) in agriculture and related WTO agreements	Lesson 2.1: Introduction to NTMs in agriculture, the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures Lesson 2.2: The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and other related rules	Lessons from May 3 to May 9, 2023
Webinar 2	How non-tariff barriers affect trade.	90 minutes	Wednesday, May 10  8:00 am Belize / 9:00 Central Time-Jamaica / 10:00 Eastern Time-Guyana-Chile
Unit 3 - Agriculture in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)	Lesson 3.1 - Trends in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) Lesson 3.2 - RTA provisions on tariffs, TRQs, SPS and TBT Lesson 3.3 - RTA provisions on Export Restrictions, Export Duties and Rules of Origin	Lessons from May 10 to May 24, 2023
Webinar 3	Challenges for the Caribbean integration process.	90 minutes	Wednesday, May 17  8:00 am Belize / 9:00 Central Time-Jamaica / 10:00 Eastern Time-Guyana-Chile

Evaluation and passing requirements:

To approve this virtual course a final assessment must be completed, and students must participate in the webinars and forums. The final evaluation of the course requires a 60% of achievement.

The evaluation will be measured according to the following percentage scale:

• Approve: 60 to 100 points
• Failed: 0 to 59 points

Hardware requirements:

The equipment on which the participant takes the course must have the following minimum technical specifications for its correct completion:

• Computer or electronic device with internet connection.
• The quality and speed of navigation and downloading of documents will depend exclusively on the bandwidth of the connection.
• RAM memory greater than 1GB.
• Free space in hard disk, superior to: 500 MB.
• Processor of 600 MHz or higher.

Software Requirements:

• The latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Opera web browser, with JavaScript enabled.
• Screen resolution of at least 1024x768 pixels (width by height).
• PDF document reader.

Additional Requirements:

• Office automation skills (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), fluent email and web browsing.
• Availability of at least 5 to 6 hours per week for reading, activities and evaluations. The course schedule is at the participant's choice. You may enter the classroom at any time you wish. You should only consider entering the classroom at least three times a week for readings and activities.
• The course schedule is at the participant's choice. You may enter the classroom at any time you wish. You should only consider logging in at least three times per week for readings and completion of activities.

Language:

The course will be taught entirely in English.

Course code:

AITAEN042023

Certification:

A single certification is obtained for the approval of the course based on the criteria already described.

You will be able to automatically download the certificate issued by FAO-RLC from the course platform.

Please remember to save your certificate, as it cannot be downloaded again once the course is finished.

Better to which it belongs:

All betters

FAO Regional Initiative with which it articulates:

• Regional Initiative 1: Sustainable agri-food systems
• Regional Initiative 2: Prosperous and inclusive rural societies

Clusters to which the course is integrated:

Cluster 2: (International trade)

Supervising Officer:

Pablo Rabczuk - FAO
Milagro Matus - CARICOM Secretariat

Contact:

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]