2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

3.9.1.2 Prioritisation issues in plant health research
Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
MS national budgets for phytosanitary research, science and inspection programmes are not
increasing in step with the emerging threats to EU plant health. In addition to the constraints in
overall funding for plant health research, there is an erosion of scientific expertise in classical
fields. Research actions on plant health in support of policy decision makers need to address
different fields, including techniques and practices covering a wide range of scientific disciplines
such as taxonomy, biology, epidemiology, reference collections and material, sampling methods,
statistics for plant health, diagnostic methods, economic effects and effectiveness of measures,
and risk management.
This is recognised at EU level 172 and was reflected in the ‗State of Emergency for Plant Health‘
declaration by the EPPO during their Council Colloquium in September 2004 173 . EPPO pointed
to a growing mismatch between the expertise and science base for plant health, which is quickly
eroding, and demands on staff and resources, which are rising continuously 174 . These trends are
accentuated in the current economic context of diminishing global research and development
budgets, where plant health competes from other fields which funding organisations might
consider higher priority for research funding.
Individual MS also acknowledge the pressures on the science and research base. For example,
the Agricultural Council in July 2004, the Ministers of Agriculture of the EU supported a
statement by the Dutch Presidency 175 underlining the importance of protecting plant health
research, and has stated that ―knowledge areas which are not in the front rank of exploitative
science but which, in the longer term, are vital for underpinning sound public policy, must be
defined and protected‖.
The interviewees and field visits conducted during the evaluation have reported the following
main reasons for decreasing R&D and base expertise:
The critical mass of many laboratories is too small;
172 European Council - Presidency Report, 14413/04, November, 2004 and European Commission - Presidency
Note, SANCO 15479/04, December 2004.
173 EPPO (2004) State of Emergency for Plant Health‘ declaration by the European and Mediterranean Plant
Protection Organisation (EPPO) during their ‗Council Colloquium on Scientific Services Supporting National Plant
Protection Organisations‘ in September 2004.
174 ―The work of National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) relies on scientific expertise, but the services
providing this expertise increasingly lack staff, funds and training. On the one hand, the whole scientific basis of the
phytosanitary field is quickly eroding. Taxonomy, classical plant pathology and other scientific fields which are vital
for sustaining sound public policy are threatened with extinction, because they are no longer in the forefront of
science priorities. On the other hand, the need for phytosanitary expertise, training and research is substantially
and continuously increasing. The number and complexity of plant pest problems increases every year. New
developments and new technology have to be mastered, going far beyond existing expertise. Unless urgent action is
taken, indispensable expertise and scientific disciplines will irreversibly disappear, and NPPOs will be unable to do
their duty.”
175
Van Opstal, N., (2004), Can a decreasing scientific base sustain an increasing phytosanitary field?, EPPO
Colloquium, EPPO Council, September 2004.
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 156