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Towards biosecurity in agriculture

M.S. Swaminathan

India urgently needs a national agricultural biosecurity system to strengthen the ability to prevent pandemics. This will help safeguard the income and livelihood security of farm and fisher families.

OUR NATIONAL preparedness and capability in the area of biosecurity are currently issues of widespread debate following the detection of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus in a few pockets in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Biosecurity has wider implications in biological warfare and bio-terrorism. This area is obviously a matter of serious concern to the National Security Council. In our country, agricultural biosecurity covering crops, trees, and farm and aquatic animals is of even greater importance since it relates to the livelihood security of nearly 70 per cent of the population, and the food, health, and trade security of the nation.

The world is truly becoming a global village with reference to communication and transport. Disease causing organisms can spread fast through aeroplanes and farm trade. India is the transitory home for many migratory birds. Our country is also becoming a national village with reference to communication, transportation, and trade. Therefore, home quarantine assumes as much importance as international quarantine. Cross-border movement of farm goods and animals with neighbouring countries is another area of biosecurity significance.

The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) is concerned with the impact of invasive alien species on the livelihood security of farm women and men. Therefore, it stressed in its very first report submitted in December 2004, the need for a thorough review of the present infrastructure and institutional framework in the area of agricultural biosecurity, including the World Trade Organisation specifications of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources has been intercepting many alien invasive pests in imported agricultural commodities. There is also the threat of new strains of wheat rusts. Hence, the NCF has been holding consultations on developing a National Agricultural Biosecurity System characterised by high professional, public, and political credibility. The major conclusion is that we urgently need a National Agricultural Biosecurity System with the following principal goals:

(a) To safeguard the income and livelihood security of farm and fisher families as well as the food, health, and trade security of the nation. This through effective and integrated surveillance, vigilance, prevention, and control mechanisms designed to protect the productivity and safety of crops, farm animals, fish, and forest trees.

(b) To enhance national and local level capacity in initiating proactive measures in the areas of monitoring, early warning, education, research, and international cooperation. And, to introduce an integrated biosecurity package comprising regulatory measures, education, and social mobilisation.

(c) To organise a coordinated National Agricultural Biosecurity Programme on a hub and spokes model with effective home and regional quarantine facilities. This should be capable of insulating the major agro-ecological and farming zones of the country from invasive alien species of pests, pathogens, and weeds.

The National Agricultural Biosecurity System (NABS) should have the following three mutually reinforcing components:

(i) A National Agricultural Biosecurity Council: Chaired by the Union Minister of Agriculture, the NABC should serve as a platform for convergence and synergy among the on-going and new programmes of different Ministries and Departments of the Government of India, as well as appropriate international and State Government agencies and private sector organisations. The NABC should serve as an apex policy making and coordinating body and should pay particular attention to strengthening the national capacity in agricultural biosecurity as related to crops, farm animals, forestry, and aquatic organisms. The existing infrastructure for sanitary and phytosanitary measures will have to be reviewed and major gaps filled. While in developed countries, any disaster arising from invasive alien species like the H5N1 strain of the avian flu may be more of a human health problem, since hardly 2 to 3 per cent of the population is engaged in farming, agriculture is the backbone of the livelihood security system in rural India.

(ii) A National Centre for Agricultural Biosecurity (NCAB): This national centre should have four wings dealing with crops, farm animals, living aquatic resources, and agriculturally important micro-organisms. The major purpose of this centre should be the analysis, avoidance, and management of risks, as well as the operation of an early warning system. The NCAB should maintain databases relating to potential threats to Indian agriculture and human health security from alien invasive species. It will also serve as a watchdog agency helping to initiate pro-active action in the case of impending biosecurity threats. The NCAB could provide the Secretariat for the National Agricultural Biosecurity Council. Further, it should work on the standardisation of surveillance and control methods and help to introduce the latest molecular techniques such as micro-arrays for disease diagnosis. The NCAB should have considerable capacity in computer-aided monitoring and early warning systems. The four different divisions of the NCAB could be located in appropriate existing Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institutes, agricultural, animal husbandry, and fisheries universities, such as the ICAR's High Risk Animal Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal.

(iii) A National Agricultural Biosecurity Network (NABN): The NCAB could serve as the coordinating and facilitating centre for an NABN designed to facilitate scientific partnerships among the many existing institutions in the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors engaged in biomonitoring, biosafety, quarantine, and other biosecurity programmes. This will help to maximise the benefits from the scientific expertise and institutional strengths already available with the National Agricultural Research system, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Ministry of Science and Technology etc. The NABN could have four mini-networks relating to crops and forestry, animals including migratory birds, living aquatic organisms, and agriculturally important microbes.

The following are some of the other areas that require urgent attention from the proposed NABC:

(a) Regulation: Review all existing Acts relating to biosecurity and identify and fill gaps in the existing regulatory framework. Based on such a review, develop a National Agricultural Biosecurity Policy for being placed before Parliament and the National Development Council.

(b) Education: It holds the key to prevent unconscious and ill-informed introductions of invasive alien species. There is need for launching a biosecurity literacy movement in the country. Human resource development is also exceedingly important. A course may be introduced in all agricultural, veterinary, fisheries and rural universities, and home science colleges on agricultural biosecurity. This should be done at the basic degree level. A media resource centre should be established by the proposed NCAB to give timely and authentic information to mass media.

(c) Social Mobilisation: Agricultural Biosecurity should be everybody's business and not merely that of a few government departments or academic institutions. It would be useful to train grassroot biosecurity managers (at least one woman and one man) in every gram panchayat and nagarpalika. Towns and Cities require equal attention to enlist urban populations in the fight against biologically dangerous introductions and to create a well-informed public opinion in relation to agricultural risks and human health hazards.

Strategic partnerships

A strong and effective National Agricultural Biosecurity System requires collaboration with countries with which we share a common border — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. In addition, the proposed NABC could foster appropriate regional and international partnerships in the fight against agricultural pandemics. Collaboration with SAARC and ASEAN nations will be particularly beneficial. Also, India should play an active role in the FAO Programme on Agricultural Biosecurity funded by the Government of Norway. Collaboration with Australia will be very beneficial, since Australia is developing a very well designed agricultural biosecurity system at the national level. Partnerships among the private, academic, civil society, and public sectors as well as with the mass media should be promoted.

The National Commission on Farmers recommends the establishment of a National Agricultural Biosecurity Fund of about Rs.1,000 crore with an initial contribution by the Government of India and appropriate international and bilateral donors as well as private sector companies. Such a Fund is urgently needed for the following purposes:

(i) Strengthening infrastructure for sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

(ii) Upgrading facilities for plant, animal, and fish quarantine and certification.

(iii) Establishing an offshore genetic screening centre for animals for the purpose of identifying genes for resistance to serious disease epidemics arising from invasive alien species, such as the H5N1 strain of avian flu in poultry. Fortunately, there are unmanned islands in Lakshadweep that can be developed as offshore genetic screening centres. The present policy of killing indiscriminately all native breeds of poultry will be harmful since we may lose the wonderful opportunity of identifying genetic resistance to serious diseases. At the same time, offshore screening in isolated areas under high security arrangements will help to avoid risks within the country.

Another purpose of a National Agricultural Biosecurity Fund will be to provide timely assistance to the affected farm families whose animals such as poultry have to be culled in national interest.

To sum up, it will be prudent to take immediate action in setting up a National Agricultural Biosecurity Council, a National Centre for Agricultural Biosecurity, and a National Agricultural Biosecurity Network. This will help to strengthen considerably our ability to prevent the outbreak of disease pandemics and to initiate timely and effective control measures, when needed. The proposed Agricultural Biosecurity Network could include also neighbouring countries, thereby forming strategic partnerships to prevent potential pandemics. Above all, a National Agricultural Biosecurity Fund will help to strengthen our infrastructure, introduce new molecular techniques of identification and verification, derive benefits from our animal genetic resources, and provide needed and timely help to the affected families.

(The writer is Chairman, National Commission on Farmers.)

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