University consortium melds agro-safety with business continuity
Created by Virginia Tech, UC Davis and others, the Agricultural Vulnerability Assessment Training Program helps farmers defend their crops and make contingency plans; thirty-four courses to be offered nationwide; program funded by $2 million DHS grant
Although we often think of agroterror and business continuity as seperate issues, for farmers they are two sides of the same coin. Not only do isolated but serious outbreaks hurt the market for innocent producers — as was the case with spinach recently — but a rippling effect can damage surrounding produce and animal markets as well. Yet the agricultural industry cannot consult the same continuity guides as brick and morter businesses. One cannot back up a crop of wheat on a remote server or arrange for an alternate farm to plow in case of emergency. This is a specialized sector with particular needs. Fortunately, a number of universities specializing in agricicultural safety have come together to help solve the problem.
Funded entirely by a $2 million DHS grant, the Agricultural Vulnerability Assessment Training Program intends to develop classroom based training for farmers and producers on reducing vulnerabalities in production, packaging, and shipping, as well as best continuity practices for the industry. “We want people to recognize how vulnerable they are. Can you survive economically if you were hit by an infectious agent and could your industry survive, and how will the nation be impacted? That’s the goal of this project,” said Francois Elvinger of Virginia Tech. Once the curriculum has been approved by the appropriate federal agencies, the consortium will conduct three pilot programs before launching nationwide at thirty-four different locations.
The consortium involved in this program includes Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee, University of California at Davis, Kirkwood Community College, and the University of New Mexico.
-read more in this Collegiate Times report
