Protecting the Agricultural Economy and Global Commerce Shashank Nilakhe, PhD Texas Department of Agriculture

US Agriculture Cash receipts: $259 Billion (Crops $134 billion and livestock $125 billion). Twenty percent of the production is exported; the rest consumed, processed. Exports: $71 billion; imports same. Non agricultural export $867 billion; import $1,777 billion. Texas: $18 billion; $3 billion export.

US Agriculture, Export, Import ($ billion). Top Export countries Canada – 11.9 Mexico – 10.9 Japan – 8.4 EE (25) – 7.2 China – 6.7 Top Import Countries Canada – 13.4 Mexico – 9.4 Japan – EE (25) – 14.4 China – 2.2

Scope of My Talk Many steps are involved in food supply from farm-to-fork. Animal pathogen/disease emergencies are generally handled by the Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA. TDA handles plant pests and other Ag emergencies during crop production.

Trade Is Not Free For every unit increase in trade, there is proportional increase in pest introduction. Commercial shippers generally play by the rules, but visitors, tourists often do not. A state is concerned with international, interstate and intrastate boundaries. Pest incidence, terrorist or a natural act?

Crop Pests Estimate is that half of the pests in the USA came from elsewhere. Mere presence of a pest (no damage) leads to quarantines, loss of markets, and a drop in share prices. Ag is especially vulnerable to terrorist acts due to easy access to croplands and ranches.

Biological Agents Against Crops Easy access to crops. Agents cheap to produce and easy to disseminate. May be masked as a natural phenomenon. May not kill humans, but cripple Ag economy.

Ag Trade Requirements For export, need to show absence of pests. Phytosanitary certificates are issued to facilitate trade. For imports, each country maintains a list of pests of concern by commodity and mitigation measures. To avoid chaos, IPPC sets intnl standards.

The approval process A country officially requests another country a permit to export a commodity. A country conducts a pest risk assessment, denies approval, or suggests mitigations measures. Dispute resolution: Not to use pest issue as a trade barrier.

Measures to Keep Pests Out Offshore pre-clearance programs. Stop pests at the borders, commercial shipments versus passenger traffic (CBP). Pest survey to find if key exotic pests have entered the US, and surveys to show absence of pests for export. Eradicate the pests if found, very expensive. E. coli; peanut butter incidences.

Measures to Implement Government can not do it all alone. Be vigilant. Report suspicious activities. Identify vulnerabilities; take corrective measures. Be prepared; anticipate and plan for emergencies.

Conclusions Keep pests out of the country. Find out out if they have entered the country. Contain, control or eradicate, if feasible. Find ways to keep trade open and flourishing, but prevent pest introductions --- a win-win situation.