This project improved the preparedness of Australia's grain industry for incursions of Emergency Plant Pests (EPPs) by developing a national surveillance plan to support market access and provide contingency plans for threats to Australia's grains industry.

Research outcomes:

• Twenty two contingency plans for key high and medium priority pest threats to the Australian grains industry were prepared. These plans provide information on pest life cycles, potential distribution, survival strategies and methods for surveillance and sampling to assist with biosecurity preparedness.
• Audit of grain pest specific reference material held electronically by PHA was undertaken.
• Biosecurity awareness information was provided to researchers, growers, grains bulk handlers and agribusiness in the form of media articles and seminars.
• Development of surveillance plans for Russian wheat aphid, Hessian fly and Sunn pest to assist capture of data for both early detection of new pests and market access requirements.

Research implications:

The development or update of contingency plans for key pest threats and surveillance plans for Russian wheat aphid, Hessian fly and Sunn pest, together with the delivery of biosecurity messages, form an important part of biosecurity preparedness and prevention activities for the grains industry.

The development of contingency plans will provide information that will form the basis of response plans to pest incursions. The provision of information within the contingency plans will assist with more rapid eradication, containment or management mechanisms being put in place, helping both deliverers and beneficiaries of the emergency response.

Provision of awareness training and information is an important part of industry preparedness, assisting to increase the understanding of the importance of biosecurity and the response mechanisms Australia puts in place in the event of an incursion.

The surveillance plans for Russian wheat aphid, Hessian fly and Sunn pest provides a framework for a coordinated national approach to collection and capture of data for both early detection of new pests and market access requirements.

The surveillance plans assessed the probability of detection of each of these pests using routine crop monitoring. This framework has implications for all stakeholders in the grains supply chain that will be impacted by pests of market access concern or potential pest incursions.

Acknowledgements:

PHA wishes to acknowledge the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) for supporting this project.

PHA also acknowledges all experts who contributed to completion of contingency plans.

There are increasing international concerns about food quality and safety. Import requirements are becoming more demanding and exporters including Australia now need not only to declare they are free from plant and animal pests and diseases, but they need to demonstrate it too. As a result, pest surveillance has become a critical tool to secure market access. Exporting countries now need to provide accurate, credible data with evidentiary chain to confirm freedom status.

Research outcomes

Technical equipment like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have emerged as a powerful tool not only to collect information but also to improve the quality and application of the data collected. Cooperative Research centre for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB) PDA software developed with Visual CE was successfully tested during the 2007 post-border detection of Khapra beetle in suburban Western Australia by providing evidence of complete eradication via 1,273 trap inspections. This achievement was supported by GPS-located traps, digital voice navigation itineraries, digital time and date stamps, field printed barcode labels, site imagery, Google Maps integration all in a single hand-held unit.
 

New PDA hardware and software continues to be developed by the CRCNPB for use in other pest surveillance activities. These include hazard site pest surveillance, stored grain fumigation monitoring, grain insect resistance testing and fruit fly phenology studies. 

Research implications

Australia remains committed to World Trade Organization agreements, sanitary and phytosanitary agreements, the International Plant Protection Convention and international sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  We recognises the need for quarantine plant pest surveillance data of the utmost integrity is essential to support area freedom negotiations.
 

With most of Australia’s agriculture produce exported, securing and maintaining market access is critical as is the need to demonstrate freedom from certain plant and animal pests and diseases. Surveillance is an important tool for securing market access and as discussed exporting countries now need to provide accurate, credible evidence to confirm absence (i.e known not to occur) for pest freedom status.
 

This CRCNPB project focused on the development of pest surveillance data collection software and hardware using hand-held computers or PDAs. This approach provides chain of evidence control, increases the volume of data collected as well as its integrity through relational databases and seamless data transfer to corporate systems.

Acknowledgements

Damian Shepherd, Iain Martin, John Bruce (Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) Spatial Information Systems) and Bob Vassallo (DAFWA Animal Biosecurity) provided technical input. Department of Fisheries and Forestry Surveillance Reference Group participants collaborated with beta testing the Urban Surveillance application; Peter Gillespie, Deborah Kent, Craig Murdoch, Tony Monteith, Rebecca Yarrow, Bruce Baker, Wayne Marshall, Russell Elliott, Megan Szczerbanik, Nita Ramsden, James Swan, Heather Wallace, Richard Johnston, Cain Roberts, Melanie Hay, Jo Slattery, Sharyn Taylor, Stephen Dibley, Paul Pheloung, Gareth Men, Greg Hood, Debra Riddell, Peter Frecklington. Shirani Poogoda (DAFWA) beta tested the Fruit Fly Phenology application. Ern Kostas (CBH Group) beta tested the Grain Fumigation application. Peter Davis (DAFWA) beta tested with ant surveys on Christmas and Norfolk Islands.

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Outcome

Detection: More effective national surveillance systems.

Goal

A more effective national surveillance system based on scientifically sound sampling tools and survey methodologies. 

Indicators of success

Economic:

Deployment of new monitoring applications to enhance scientific defensibility of market access for stored grains.

Science:

Surveillance tools developed and peer reviewed through scientific publication and invitations to present at key meetings, conferences and workshops.

Policy:

New surveillance tools and procedures are used by end-users to support market access outcomes.

Capacity/Collaboration:

Tools and standardised procedures are delivered to end-users through training.

Impact/Adoption:

New tools (statistical tools, automated traps, Personalised Digital Assistants) are used by end-users to enhance existing surveillance processes.