ECO Regional Coordination Centre for Food Security (ECO-RCCFS)
ECO-RCCFS is a regional coordination centre for the implementation of the ECO/FAO Regional Programme for Food Security (RPFS) that collaborates with the ECO Secretariat and FAO-SEC. The main purpose of ECO-RCCFS is to coordinate projects and activities relevant to RPFS components in the ECO Member States and enhance cooperation among the Member States in the fields of agriculture and food security. The RPFS was finalized in cooperation with FAO and ECO Secretariat in 2008. It was designed to support or initiate national programmes for food security in order to improve agricultural productivity on an economically and environmentally sustainable basis within ECO. During the 20th Regional Planning Council in 2010, Türkiye was elected to be the coordinating country for RPFS with consensus of ECO Member States. The 19th Council of Ministers in 2010 approved the establishment of the ECO Regional Coordination Centre for the implementation of RPFS (ECO-RCCFS) in Ankara, Türkiye. Accordingly, the ECO-RCCFS was established within the former Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Türkiye in Ankara on 02 November 2012 and publicly announced at the 5th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture on 15 November 2012. The ECO-RCCFS Office is based within the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Türkiye.
The purpose of establishment of ECO-RCCFS is primarily to coordinate the projects and activities to be developed and carried out under RPFS in the ECO Member States and also to enhance cooperation among member countries. The 7th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture (July 6, 2022, Tashkent, Uzbekistan) approved the updated ECO-RPFS. By this means, ECO-RCCFS is expected to facilitate the identification, prioritization and addressing the main impediments to food security at national and regional levels in the ECO Region.
FUNCTIONS OF ECO-RCCFS:
- Coordinating and facilitating all activities under RPFS
- Enhancing cooperation and information exchange on food security
- Collaborating with all stakeholders interested in food security
- Raising awareness on food security in the ECO Region
- Organizing trainings, seminars and workshops on food security
- Identifying and contacting potential donors toward implementation of RPFS
For more information please refer to the ECO-RCCFS’s website: https://www.ecorccfs.org/
ECO Seed Association (ECOSA)
ECO Seed Association (ECOSA) was established in 2009 in Ankara as an affiliated body of ECO for developing seed industry and trade at the national and regional level. ECOSA aims to improve the infrastructure of the seed sector in the countries of ECO region and to increase the trade volume of seed sector, as well as provision of high quality and increasing agricultural production in accordance with its vision and mission.
In this regard, ECOSA has organized the activities such as conferences and trade fairs on the usual practice. As well, the ECOSA also provided its technical assistance and active participation on the implementation of the ECO/FAO-SEC Project on Seed Sector Development in the region. As an outcome of the subject Project, an ECO Regional Seed Agreement was formulated and is on the verge of finalization.
To date, seven International Seed Trade Conferences have been organized by ECOSA since 2009. Experts and representatives from private sector, seed sector specialists from ECO and OIC Member States’ public and private companies and various other international organizations and institutions participated in these conferences. As an outcome of these conferences, around 900 professionals working in the seed sector were trained through technical workshops and had the opportunity to establish business contacts.
The most important aims of the ECOSA are as follows:SA is a non-political
a) Representing the interests of its members at regional and national level,
b) Improving the relations among its members and helping to solve the problems they may encounter,
c) Developing and accelerating the free circulation of seeds with
fair and appropriate regulations while serving the farmers, breeders, industry and consumers,
d) To raise awareness of the value and importance of their contribution to ensure world food security, genetic diversity and sustainable agriculture, particularly through the development, production and use of high quality seed, including the use of modern technology;
e) To improve the creation and protection of intellectual property rights for seeds, plant varieties and related technologies arising from plant breeding, plant biotechnology, seed technology and related fields;
f) To accelerate the marketing of seeds and plant propaganation of seeds and plant
propagation materials by announcing commercial rules in regional markets for the information of members,
g ) Accelerating access to information and resources on new technologies,
h) Providing resolution of disputes through mediation, conciliation and arbitration,
(i) Encouraging and supporting the establishment of national seed associations and their members,
j) Encouraging and supporting the education and training of seed growers in ECO countries,
ECO Veterinary Commission (ECO-VECO)
The 3rd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture held in March 2007 in Tehran adopted the idea of establishment of ECO-VECO. It requested the working group composing of the Heads of Veterinary Organizations of Member States to finalize the draft Statute of the ECO-VECO. The 4th Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture held on September 10, 2008, in Baku, Azerbaijan, decided the finalization of the draft Statute on establishment of the ECO-VECO. Then, the 19th COM (December 22, 2010, Istanbul, Türkiye) approved establishment of the ECO-VECO in Tehran as a specialized agency of ECO. The subject Council also approved the Statute of the ECO-VECO and decided to submit it for signature/ratification by the Member States. To date, Iran and Afghanistan has signed and ratified the Statute.
The premises of the ECO Veterinary Commission was inaugurated in Tehran by the Veterinary Organization/Ministry of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2013. The ECO-VECO shall promote cooperation among its members with a view to ensuring, through appropriate management, the strengthening of animal health activities and capabilities to minimize interference with national trade resulting from animal health measures, and to increase livestock productivity and trade in healthy animals and safe animal products according to the international standards set by OIE (World Organization for Animal Health).
ECO Agricultural Bio-technology Network (ECO-ABN)
The 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture in 2004 welcomed and endorsed the proposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish a Network for Agricultural Biotechnology. In this regards, the ECO Agricultural Biotechnology Network (ECO-ABN) was established in 2005 in Tehran.
The main purpose of this project was to provide the National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) in the ECO countries with an efficient tool for collaborative research in the field of biotechnology. The ultimate goal of the ECO-ABN is to assist the national agricultural researchers to apply biotechnology in order to meet their own national needs. ECO-ABN facilitates the working of the National Agricultural Research Institutes in ECO countries with an increased efficiency and effectiveness for collaborative research in the area of biotechnology. Such an objective would be realized through networking of the national biotechnology institutes, researchers, scientists, engineers as well as administrators, linking their regional activities and collaboration with international organizations and laboratories, in order to enhance the capacity building in the relevant institutions of the Member States, including joint studies and research projects, harmonization of bio-safety protocols and testing at regional level.
For more information please refer to the ECO-ABN’s website:
ECO Regional Institute for
Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (ECO-RISCAM)
The Economic Cooperation Organization based on the needs to harmonize standards in the region, as well as considering the pivotal role of standards in the development of trade and facilitating the exchange of goods and services among Member States by removing trade barriers, emphasized to establish the ECO-RISCAM. Accordingly, the establishment of the ECO-RISCAM Institute was approved at the Third Meeting of ECO Ministerial Meeting on Industry in Lahore, Pakistan in 2008. The Statute of ECO-RISCAM also was approved by the 18th Council of Ministers (COM) on March 9, 2009 in Tehran.
The ECO-RISCAM will be the focal point for activities that promote an integrated regional market which actively supports ECO Member States to penetrate and enhance their share in the global markets; and contributes to economic, social, scientific and technological progress of the region.
According to ECO-RISCAM statute, the Institute is headquartered in Tehran. To date, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Türkiye have signed and ratified the Statute of ECO-RISCAM.
The official opening ceremony of the Central Secretariat of ECO-RISCAM and its Technical Management Board of Conformity Assessment was held on 14 December, 2016 in Tehran, Iran. This Institute has four Technical Management Boards (TMBs) including Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology TMBs. The Secretariats of the Technical Management Boards (TMB) of Standardization and Accreditation will be located in Türkiye, Metrology in Pakistan and Conformity Assessment in Iran.
The most important missions of the ECO-RISCAM are as follows:
- Harmonize national standards of the ECO Member States;
- Harmonize conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology practices of the ECO Member States;
- Facilitate and promote trade through the harmonization of standards, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology practices which will contribute to removal of technical barriers in trade;
- Enhance quality and safety of products, environmental and consumer protection through the application of harmonized standards, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology practices;
- Disseminate information on standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology that will promote scientific and technological progress of the ECO Region;
- Promote and support effective participation of ECO Member States in international activities in the fields of standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology.
For more information please refer to the ECO-RISCAM’s website:
https://ecoriscam.inso.gov.ir/portal/home/
ECO Nanotechnology Network (ECO-NAN)
Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize, many technology and industry sectors including information technology, homeland security, medicine, transportation, energy, food safety and environmental science, among many others. If nanotechnology is going to revolutionize manufacturing, then it will transform labor, workplace and infrastructures. Now, applications of nanotechnology are delivering in both expected and unexpected ways to benefit society.
In this regards, the 18th Council of Minister (COM) on March 9, 2009 in Tehran endorsed the Project on the Establishment of ECO Nanotechnology Network. Accordingly, the ECO Nanotechnology Network was launched by Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council (INIC) as coordinator in Tehran on 26 May 2009.
ECO Nanotechnology Network is the relevant body that promotes scientific and industrial development of nanotechnology in ECO region.
The main goal of the Network is to strengthen cooperation among ECO countries in nano-technology research and development. The experiences of the member states would synergize development measures and policy formulation on nanotechnology in such sectors as public health, employment, occupational safety, information society, industry, innovation, environment, energy, transport, security and space.
ECO Nanotechnology Network brings regional expertise and experience to address complex development challenges through nanotechnology. The Network recognizes and develops competencies and knowledge, encourage scientists and inventors thinking, strengthen integrity and accountability.
ECO Nanotechnology Network conducted a study project on Nano-Technology process in ECO Region, in previous years. The 2nd ECO Steering Committee on ECO Nanotechnology Network was held on July 10, 2023 among Member States. The meeting emphasized the necessity to increase cooperation on nanotechnology among the Member States to provide new solutions to improve access to basic services, such as safe water, reliable energy, health care, agricultural productions and education. Likewise, two project proposals, concerning “facilitation on establishment of Nanobubble pilot plants for improving agricultural productivity” and “establishment of a coordinating and facilitating platform for implementation of nanotechnology based water treatment pilot plants” were discussed in the meeting.
For more information please refer to the ECO Nanotechnology Network’s website:
