Miller Magazine Issue: 139 July 2021

94 ARTICLE MILLER / july 2021 Additionally, the grain trade has for several years been promoting the need for interoperability of the ePhyto Solution with other digital platforms. This is important for use alongside government-led platforms such as single window automated systems. The World Customs Or- ganization (WCO) is fully supportive of this effort and a “Channel” has already been built and is fully operational with the EU TRACES system since May 2020. Efforts are underway to use the channel for other single windows users, such as Mexico and Brazil. Equally important for smooth trade is interoperability with industry digital platforms. That’s why we have vol- unteered to coordinate tests of an ePhyto “Channel” that will link up with the private sector. The ePhyto Solution is attracting much attention from digital tech innovation companies who see value in having an interface. A num- ber of companies have expressed an interest in testing and the door is open for more to be involved if they meet the baseline technical specifications. This is a strictly non-competitive environment for private sector actors to “test” whether their digital platforms can interact with the ePhyto Solution and it is important to remember that access to ePhytos, just like access to paper phytos, will be administered by governmental National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs). The final objective is to ensure a Channel component that can serve not only the whole grains industry, but all plant product sectors that use phytos – this should be a public good! The grain trade is focusing on efforts to increase com- munication and information sharing on digitalization. Several common priorities are emerging: • The status quo involves common challenges faced by the agricultural commodity industry: inefficient pro- cesses around documentation; labour intensive audit trails; long processing times; lack of common standards • there is a need for industry to collaborate to improve traceability, security, efficiency and transparency • digital documentation is most useful for the interna- tional grain trade when applied to the entire flow of doc- umentation • efforts are already underway to invest in and imple- ment digital documentation: bills of lading, country of or- igin certificates, barge documentation • the applicability of block chain for international grain trade operations • security is an absolute “must” and investment will not be made in digital systems that cannot guarantee security • the progress of innovation and adoption can vary for different types of documents, with the phytosanitary cer- tificate historically “lagging behind” in terms of reliance on paper In the face of this global pandemic, we are seeing true advantages and real time benefits that a fully functional and accessible ePhyto Solution, have brought our indus- tries and international trade. To increase global participation in the Solution, the IAG and the IPPC ePhyto Solution have created guides on “how-to” join the Hub or GenS for countries and industry participants.