The Strategic Partnership Program Agroterrorism (SPPA) Initiative is a public-private cooperative effort established by the FBI, DHS, USDA, and FDA in partnership with State and industry volunteers. The intent of the initiative is to collect the necessary data to identify sector-specific vulnerabilities, develop mitigation strategies, identify research gaps and needs, and increase awareness and coordination between the food and agriculture government and industry stakeholders. To accomplish this, the SPPA brings together these Federal, State, local, and industry partners to collaboratively conduct a series of assessments of food and agricultural industries.
These assessments support the requirements for a coordinated food and agriculture infrastructure protection program as stated in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), Sector Specific Plans (SSP), and Homeland Security Presidential Directive-9 (HSPD-9), Defense of US Agriculture and Food.
The NIPP, SSP, and HSPD-9 all call for Federal, State, and industry partners to work together to protect the nation’s infrastructure. Specifically, HSPD-9 establishes a national policy to defend the agriculture and food system against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. HSPD-9 directs the government to work with industry to: identify and prioritize sector-critical infrastructure and key resources; establish protection requirements; develop awareness and early warning capabilities to recognize threats; mitigate vulnerabilities at critical production and processing nodes; enhance screening procedures for domestic and imported products; and enhance response and recovery procedures.
The government requires a greater understanding of the food and agriculture industries in order to identify the critical infrastructure and then address protective measures. The SPPA initiative is a forum for government and industry officials to share information that helps in identifying sector-specific vulnerabilities, developing protective measures, identifying research gaps and needs, and increasing awareness and coordination between the industry and government.
http://nabc.ksu.edu/assets/uploads/SPAA_Report.pdf Report Broken Link
Posted by: Adassa Roe
Posted Date: Aug 9 2006