Plant Protection and Quarantine

Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is a program within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which comprises of an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The PPQ program attempts to safeguard agriculture and natural resources in the United States of America against the entry, establishment, and spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds. PPQ also supports trade and exports of U.S. agricultural products.

PPQ responds to various new introductions of plant pests to eradicate, suppress, or contain them through various programs in cooperation with state departments of agriculture and other government agencies within the USA. These may include emergency or longer-term domestic programs that target a specific pest.

Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) safeguards agriculture and natural resources from the risks associated with the entry, establishment, or spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds to ensure an abundant, high-quality, and varied food supply.

The aim of PPQ’s pest detection program is to protect America’s agricultural and ecological resources by ensuring the early detection of harmful or economically significant plant pest and weeds.

The Pest Detection program supports APHIS’ goal of safeguarding U.S. agricultural and environmental resources by ensuring that new introductions of harmful plant pests and diseases are detected before they have a chance to cause significant damage.

The Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST) is the scientific support division for Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). CPHST is responsible for ensuring that PPQ has the information, tools and technology to make the most scientifically valid regulatory and policy decisions possible. In addition, CPHST ensures PPQ’s operations have the most scientifically viable and practical tools for pest exclusion, detection, and management. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST) provides scientific support for PPQ regulatory decisions and operations. Project Areas:

Assessing the potential impact of new invasive plant pests to U.S. agriculture and the pest risks associated with imported plant products.

Developing new treatment methods for plant products to prevent movement of invasive pests through international trade.

Developing tools and techniques to improve early detection of exotic pests in surveillance programs.

...
Wikipedia