Crop Biosecurity

Prevention and preparedness are the two basic approaches to maximize food security against any sort of tampering, whether natural, inadvertent or intentional. The NATO funded project Tools for crop biosecurity was designed to strengthen the cooperation among U.S., Europe and Israel in the field of crop biosecurity and to generate awareness on how the psychological, economic and cultural consequences of crop bioterrorism, especially attacks on soft targets such as crop seeds, could have a disproportionate adverse effect on Mediterranean agriculture and, more generally, on society.

This book illustrates the achievements of the project originated from the workshops organized during the project itself taking in consideration main microbiological threads posed to crops, the tools to recognize and to control them, the needs for international cooperation and research funds to create networks which can face emerging risks for agriculture.

Crop biosecurity is an emerging science which need to be developed and disseminated among scientists This volume takes in consideration the most relevant aspects related to crop biosecurity and gives specific indications about threads which may be intentionally or accidentally posed to agricultural production The collaborative project on Crop Biosecurity which gave inspiration to the book was perceived by NATO as an important opportunity to increase awareness of possible threats to crop and food production caused by plant pathogens used (intentionally or not) as biological weapons The book represents a benchmark for the set up of crop biosecurity courses given to different users and which are a pretty new subject among the ones considered e.g. in universities

Inhalt
Crop Biosecurity: Definitions and Role in Food Safety and Food Security.- Scope of the Project.- Challenges to Crop Biosecurity.- High Consequence Plant Pathogens.- Crop Biosecurity: Local, National, Regional and Global Perspectives.- The Need for Diagnostic Tools and Infrastructure.- Crop Biosecurity: Containment and Eradication of Invasive Pathogens.- The Need for Forensic Tools in a Balanced National Agricultural Security Program.- The Need for Secure Communications Networks and Global Connectivity.- The Case for International Cooperation as a Strategy to Achieve Crop Biosecurity.- Crop and Food Biosecurity Research: Luxury or Need?.- Evaluation of Critical Issues and Identification of Research and Investments Needs in the Field of Crop Biosecurity in Europe.- European Commission's Green Paper on Bio-Preparedness.