The role of regulatory mechanisms for control of plant diseases and food security—case studies from potato production in Britain

Abstract

Being aware of the potentially devastating impacts of plant diseases on food security, governments have designed and employ plant health legislation to prevent or inhibit the worst impacts. The development of such policies in Britain, and latterly in Europe, can be closely linked to disease events that have occurred in the potato sector. We analyse early and current examples of policies governing potato diseases in Britain to identify the decision processes leading to the implementation of such phytosanitary policies and how they have evolved over time and in response to different disease threats. Reasons for developing and implementing phytosanitary policies include the desire to prevent pathogens being introduced (entering and establishing in a new area), the protection of export markets, and the lack of effective control measures. Circumstances in which regulatory policies would not be appropriate could include situations where a disease is already widely distributed, unacceptable costs, lack of exclusion measures, or difficulties of disease diagnosis. We conclude that in general, government policies have worked well in protecting British potato growing over the last one hundred years, despite of the failures of some of the policies discussed here. They have also contributed much to the development of plant health policies for other crops. Voluntary grower initiatives are a new mechanism complementing existing formal policies with an additional level of security that allows individual growers to take on additional responsibility rather than relying entirely on government legislation.

Integrating natural and social science perspectives on plant disease risk, management and policy formulation

“…Invasive pathogens, though, pose new challenges for those responsible for control strategies, in part, owing to a lack of experience with novel pathogens and/or a lack of effective measures. Thus, the evolution of plant protection policy has been reactive, shaped initially by attempts to control, among others, diseases of potatoes in Europe [29]. While policy development has been based on a close relationship between policy makers and regulatory scientists, political, public and commercial pressures have shaped priorities and actions [30 -32].…”

Governing Biosecurity in a Neoliberal World: Comparative Perspectives from Australia and the United Kingdom

“…The evolution of plant health policy has tended to be reactive, shaped initially by attempts to control, amongst other things, diseases of potatoes in Europe (see Dehnen-Schmutz et al, 2010). More generally, approaches to biosecurity governance in the UK are strongly shaped by the experience of recent, high-profile disease outbreaks.…”

Adaptation of knowledge systems to changes in agriculture and society: The case of the Netherlands

“…First, the focus became stronger on thematic fields (sustainability, environmental pollution, rural development, plant health, animal diseases, etc.) than on agricultural production as such [14,15]. As a consequence the technical aspects of extension became almost completely privatized.…”