Integrated Risk Management for Safer Agri-Food Trade in Bhutan

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This training programme, developed under the STDF-funded project “Modernizing Bhutan’s Border Management Ecosystem to Facilitate the Safe Trade of Agri-Food Products (2025-2027)”, implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in partnership with the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) and key border regulatory agencies.

The programme is designed to support Bhutan’s transition towards a modern, science-based, and coordinated border management system by strengthening institutional and operational capacities in Integrated Risk Management (IRM) and Pre-Arrival Processing (PAP), in line with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and international best practices.

It takes participants on a structured journey from understanding the strategic role of risk management to designing and implementing risk-based controls that use pre-arrival information, enabling authorities to identify risks earlier, apply proportionate controls, and facilitate the clearance of compliant consignments.

The training directly supports Output 1 of the project, contributing to the institutionalization of risk-based and PAP-enabled border controls within BFDA, the Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC), and the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) due to their role in enforcing agri-food trade regulation at border checkpoints (including Integrated Check Posts or ICPs).

The curriculum is organized into three interconnected courses:

Course 1: Vision - Understanding Risk Management as a strategic enabler for safe and efficient agri-food trade
Module 1 – 3

This course builds a shared foundation on why of Integrated Risk Management (IRM)and Pre-Arrival Processing (PAP) matter for Bhutan’s agri-food border management, and how they jointly support safe and efficient trade. It introduces the principles of risk analysis and explains how advance information and early document review can improve targeting, reduce duplication, and strengthen coordinated border controls.

By the end of this course, participants will:

Course 2: Design - Building risk-based systems and preparing for implementation
Module 4 – 6

This course moves from vision to how to design risk-based control processes. It equips participants with methods and tools to support profiling, targeting, inspection planning, and proportionate enforcement, so that scarce resources focus on what matters most.

By the end of this course, participants will:

Course 3: Action - Applying Best Practices in Customs and SPS
Module 7 – 8

This course brings IRM into action, focusing on how it is applied in real operational contexts. It explores best practices in customs and SPS, highlighting how agencies design, coordinate, and refine risk management at the border.

By the end of this course, participants will:

Overall outcome

By embarking on this journey, participants will be better equipped to support reforms and day-to-day improvements that institutionalize risk-based controls and progressively strengthen PAP-enabled targeting, helping Bhutan’s border agencies improve safety outcomes while facilitating clearance of compliant trade and strengthening inter-agency coordination.

Who will benefit?

This training will benefit a wide community of actors across Bhutan. It is designed for policymakers and national coordinators who shape trade and regulatory strategies, for customs administrations and non-customs border agencies that apply controls at the frontier, and for regulators and standards bodies working to align testing and certification with risk-based approaches.