Producer Risk Assessment in Plant Biosecurity Management

What is meant by the term “risk assessment”? Question:

Answer: For the purpose of this course: Risk assessment is defined as a producer process to identify existing threats, conditions, and practices that are potentially conducive to theft, vandalism, or a plant biosecurity event.

A risk assessment is one of producers’ first steps to preparedness planning and mitigation activities in plant biosecurity management. Note: You may also see the term “risk assessment” applied to other segments of the agricultural sector, including for financial planning purposes. Broadly defined, risk assessment is a process to detect the likelihood of exposure to any type of hazardous condition or undesired event that could result in loss of assets.

Is the term “risk assessment” synonymous with the term “vulnerability assessment”? Question:

Answer: The terms are closely related. Vulnerability assessment includes estimations on the Probability of an undesirable occurrence Potential impact of an event on humans Potential impact of an event on property and the environment Potential impact of an event on income and the agricultural sector Inventory of available internal and external resources to respond to an event Sources: FEMA; amanet.org

For example... In Lesson One, you learned that experts in government agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations believe that the agricultural sector is “highly vulnerable” to an agroterrorist attack. Those opinions are based upon vulnerability assessments. Your role as an Extension educator is to help producers lower their vulnerability to the threat of agroterrorism. To do this, you will teach producers how to identify risks that can lead to intentional and unintentional biosecurity problems, by having them complete a plant biosecurity risk assessment checklist.

What to tell producers: Difference between the two processes Risk Assessment... a process to identify hazards, conditions, and practices that potentially threaten an agricultural operation Vulnerability Assessment... a process to evaluate (a) the probability of an undesirable event caused by an identified risk, and (b) the consequences of an event on family members, employees, buildings, machinery, crops, and income.

As Extension professionals often serve in leadership capacities for local communities, it is important for you to better understand the elements of a vulnerability assessment. Therefore, you will be asked to read a section of FEMA’s Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry later in this lesson. You will find that the concepts in this reading are also applicable to agribusiness companies and agricultural operations. For your information...

Your teaching resources included with this lesson have simplified versions of a risk assessment checklist and vulnerability assessment form, both designed for agricultural producers. Because the introductory-type materials target only basic skills, your learners will not become “experts” in these processes. However, after producers have applied these materials to their own operation, they will have achieved an understanding of essential concepts, and become engaged in initial preparedness planning efforts. FYI – continued...

What does a plant biosecurity risk assessment entail? Question:

Using a risk assessment checklist, you will teach producers how to evaluate:  the safety and security of their entire farming operation, including equipment, structures, and rules for visitors  routine practices in fields, nurseries, orchards, and vineyards  adherence to security measures, and  use of their current biosecurity plan, if one has previously been established.

How will producers use the results from their risk assessment checklist? Question:

Answer: The findings from the risk assessment checklist will help producers  understand the need for best practices in plant biosecurity management  outline plant biosecurity mitigation activities for their operation

Later in this lesson you will have an opportunity to learn how a risk assessment process is one part of a comprehensive preparedness plan. to relate the results of a risk assessment process to a vulnerability assessment process. Now return to Lesson 3, Teaching Scenario 1 For your information...

References American Management Association (2003, February). Elements of Emergency Planning. Retrieved from AMA at Federal Emergency Management Agency (2004, January). Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry. Retrieved from FEMA at http: Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service (2004, June). Rural Security Planning: Protecting Family, Friends, and Farm. Document Number PPP-64. University of Arkansas (2003) Arkansas Farm Biosecurity Plan. Retrieved from U of A Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service at