Action against pest spread—the case for retrospective analysis with a focus on timing

Martin Ward ()

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 77-81

Abstract: One of the major threats to plant production and food security is the spread of plant pests and pathogens to new areas where there is neither resistance in the host plants nor natural enemies to keep the new arrival in check. There is a general view in the regulatory plant health community, at least in the region served by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), that measures to prevent or slow the spread of new pests are not implemented as quickly as they should be. This paper presents some past pest outbreaks where a delay in action may have led to significant increases in costs. It goes on to suggest that retrospective modelling could be used to test the theory that delays have led to suboptimal use of resources and to quantify the consequences. The paper concludes by identifying some ways in which the timing of measures might be improved. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and International Society for Plant Pathology 2016

Keywords: Plant pests and pathogens; Horizon scanning; Rapid pest risk analysis; Contingency planning; Early detection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-015-0532-z

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