A 3-day meeting of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Suriname (NIVS) was completed yesterday in Paramaribo with participation of all members of the Board and Mrs. Juliette Colli, appointed Acting CEO of NIVS. The meeting focussed on charting a plan forward for the operationalization of the NIVS as Suriname’s primary food safety regulator.
The meeting resulted in setting a strategic direction for the NIVS with the agreement on a proposed vision for the next three years and key strategic goals, which include the review of current food safety legislation and a proposal for a modernized food law, the promotion of food safety practices amongst food producers in Suriname as well as consumers, and the staffing of food safety experts and officers to enable the operations of NIVS food regulatory functions. The meeting also resulted in agreeing to proceed with the expansion of food safety testing capacity to offer an increasing set of testing services to the food and agri-food production sector, starting with pesticide residues in fresh fruit and vegetables.
Concrete next steps were identified and will include the development of a free of charge registration system for food operators in Suriname and the promotion of Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) amongst Suriname’s Horticulture’s producers.
In Opening the meeting on Friday 12 August, Minister Parmanand Sewdien reiterated his support to NIVS mission stating that “Having a strong and trusted food safety regulator, committed to protecting consumers and to applying science and evidence-based decisions in managing our food and agri-food products is a prerequisite to gaining trust of our consumers domestically and of foreign markets”. “We want to see NIVS become a leading food regulatory agency not only in Suriname but internationally” he added, indicating that there is no turning back in the Government’s commitment to preserve the independence and the integrity of NIVS.
NIVS Board of trustees reiterated their attachment to the values of Transparency, Collaboration, Impartiality and Independence, as guiding principles to the way NIVS would be delivering its mission.
The operationalization of NIVS is currently supported by the Agriculture Competitiveness Program funded through a loan that the Government of Suriname contracted with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), implemented by the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and supported by the European Union.
