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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TAKES PART IN AGRICULTURAL VULNERABILITIES WORKSHOP
West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) staff members – along with individuals from other state public health and emergency response agencies – recently took part in a training course on assessing the vulnerabilities of agricultural producers and food manufacturers to intentional attack.
“If I’ve learned anything over my four decades as West Virginia’s Commissioner of Agriculture, it’s that the future is always right around the corner, and that we need to constantly be trying to see around that corner if we want to protect our food supply,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “We have fought and conquered many naturally occurring diseases throughout my career, but the next threat, I fear, is an intentional attack upon our food supply.”
Commissioner Douglass also noted terrorist plans discovered after September 11, 2001 that pointed out the psychological and economic effect an attack on America’s food supply could have.
“Cross training and preparation of WVDA employees is a critical mission for the Department,” said WVDA Deputy Commissioner Janet L. Fisher. “When food or agricultural emergencies arise, our entire staff must be ready to respond because these types of events are likely to occur over an extended period of time.
“Agriculture and Food Vulnerability Assessment” was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and developed by the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Agriculture and Food Security Preparedness.
According to David Smelser, University of Tennessee Research Specialist and one of the coordinators for delivering the course, the training provides practical, real-world scenarios and a step-by-step system for assigning a numerical risk value to personnel practices, physical facilities and production processes, arriving eventually at an overall risk score.
“You have to do it all – you have to go through the entire assessment process. Some of the places you think are vulnerable aren’t. Some of the places you think are secure might not be,” Smelser said.
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The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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