Significant risks to the US food and agriculture industry necessitate improved industry and governmental agency coordination and communication.
Significant risks to the US food and agriculture industry necessitate improved industry and governmental agency coordination and communication. On July 13, the FDA, USDA, and DHS published the 120 Day Food and Agriculture Interim Risk Review, which evaluated critical and emergent risks, risk mitigation techniques, risk-contributing factors, and suggested countermeasures.
Risks identified in the Interim review include:
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, & Nuclear (CBRN) Threats:
Hazardous contaminants such as poisonous agents, including toxic industrial compounds and materials, toxins, chemical agents, and precursors; naturally occurring or genetically modified pests and pathogens of livestock, poultry, fish, shellfish, wildlife, plants, and insects; and physical effects of nuclear detonations or radioactive material dispersion are all examples of CBRN threats.
Initial Mitigation Strategies:
Expanding and improving current physical security and administrative controls, including numerous food defense mitigation strategies like controlling entry systems at crucial production, processing, storage, and transportation points, monitoring crucial points, pre-employment screening, and clearly identifying employees who are allowed to be at crucial points, can prevent CBRN incidents.
Cyber Threats:
The food industry’s increasing dependence on technology, such as automation, precision farming, and digital agriculture, increases the risk of cyberattacks, posing a severe threat to the industry.
Initial Mitigation Strategies:
Some entities in the FA sector have evaluated and reduced cybersecurity vulnerabilities by taking entity-specific measures, implementing the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, or taking other actions.
Reviewing and protecting system interconnectivities should be among future activities. All FA sector entities, both public and private, must narrow their protection gaps and increase their understanding of cyberthreats and vulnerabilities to accomplish this.
Future efforts in the FA sector’s cybersecurity should give priority to information-sharing about cyberattacks, research into intellectual property theft involving food and agriculture, FA sector dependence on the energy sector, and interdependencies within the FA supply chain.
A programme to help small and medium-sized facilities increase the implementation of efficient cyber security mitigations is highlighted as needing funding in the review as well.
Climate Change:
The threats to future agricultural productivity that may be exacerbated by climate change include natural disasters and extreme weather events, scarce water resources, the loss of pollinators and pollinator services, and increased exposure potential to pests and pathogens.
Initial Mitigation Strategies:
Water use, irrigation system improvements, dryland management techniques, and crop system utilisation should all be studied in relation to environmental hazards and degradation in the FA sector.
Research on pollinator habitat, how climate change affects pollinators, pollinator forage, pollination rates as they relate to crop yield, as well as current and emerging pests and pathogens that adversely impact the best health outcomes of people, animals, plants, and their shared environments, including the health of pollinators, is crucial for the sustainability and security of crops in the long run.
Reduced risk of pest and disease agricultural damage due to climate change can be achieved by using better monitoring systems, surveillance informed by predictive modeling, early warning systems, and better control options.
Potential Factors Contributing to Risk
A “potential factor contributing to risk” is defined in the interim review “as features or operational attributes that render an entity open to exploitation or susceptible to a given hazard.” These include:
- Food and Agriculture Industry Consolidation
- Input Shortages, including labor, energy, IT/data, and consumables.
- Aging and Insufficient Transportation Infrastructure
- Trade Disruptions
- Foreign Acquisition
- Gaps in Preparedness
Proposed Actions
The FDA, USDA and DHS developed a timeline of proposed actions, which includes short-, mid- and long-terms strategies to enhance strategic planning, understanding of FA sector risks, and information sharing and engagement. Next steps include:
Threat Assessment:
The FA sector may be targeted by or affected by potential actors, threats, delivery systems, and methods. (60 days and every year after that)
120-Day FA Interim Risk Review:
To identify risks to the FA sector from all hazards, to identify high-consequence and catastrophic risk mitigation activities, to identify steps to enhance coordination and integration within the FA sector, and to provide input into the ongoing development of the Federal Risk Mitigation Strategy. (120 days)
Vulnerability Assessments:
Identify vulnerabilities within the FA sector in consultation with state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) agencies and private sector partners. (180 days)
Risk Assessment:
Establish benchmarking based on the CBRN Strategic Risk Assessment Summary’s results and prioritise according to the biggest risks facing the FA sector. CBRN and cyber threats would be the primary focus of the first draught, with other threats being added in later draughts (e.g., energy disruption, pandemics, catastrophic weather events, consequences of climate change). (365 days)
Risk Mitigation Analysis:
This will include top-level threat mitigation measures, a suggested timetable for their completion, and a strategy for information sharing. The analysis will point out approaches to evaluating the efficacy of national risk reduction measures and strategies, capabilities, and research and development areas that prioritise mitigating the greatest risks as identified in the risk assessment. (545 days)
A Unifying Food and Agriculture Community Architecture
The review also includes a proposed “Food and Agriculture Resilience Architecture,” which acknowledges the need for better coordination and communication as well as an overarching framework to direct and maintain a consistent approach to preparedness and response to high-consequence and catastrophic incidents within the FA sector.
In order to improve the readiness and resilience of the FA sector, the proposed Architecture represents a “integrated, whole-of-community and whole-of-government system of stakeholders and capabilities.”