New biosecurity strategy to protect food security, trade and plant health
Full details
| Authors & editors | |
| Publisher | Milling & Grain |
| Year of publication | 2023 February |
| Languages | |
| Medium | Digital |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | Economics & commerce > Sustainability, behaviour and the environment |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | A new action plan to protect plants from pests and diseases was published today (Monday 9 January) by Defra, in partnership with the Forestry Commission and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain sets out a five-year vision for plant health, consisting of an action plan to secure national biosecurity, protect native species and drive economic growth. It positions the UK as a global leader in plant biosecurity, setting out the vision to create a new biosecurity regime and bio-secure plant supply chain, which will safeguard food security and help mitigate the effects of climate change. It comes following updated figures which show that plants provide an annual value of UK £15.7 billion to the United Kingdom. Specific actions include expanding the Animal and Plant Health Agency's Internet Trading Unit to step up monitoring of online retailers and social media sites for the trade of high-risk plant products, in order to stop potentially devastating pests and diseases from entering the country. Additionally, the strategy sets out how more than 30 signatories, including Defra, the Royal Horticultural Society, National Farmers Union and the Woodland Trust, will deliver an ambitious programme of behavioural change across society through the Public Engagement in Plant Health Accord. This one-of-a-kind collective commitment will kickstart a national conversation around biosecurity and promote the actions that the public can take to protect tree and plant health…Read more. |
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