Agroterrorism, Prevention, Detection and Response

Develop and implement a written process for how OHSEC oversees and coordinates USDA’s agroterrorism prevention, detection, and response activities. At a minimum, this process should include steps to: (a) perform a USDA-wide vulnerability assessment for agroterrorism preparedness every two years, and (b) integrate, coordinate, and communicate response plans for agricultural disease emergencies and agroterrorist acts.

Obtain information from agencies about the purpose, frequency, and outcomes of exercises related to agroterrorism. Review after-action reports from agency exercises to: (a) identify lessons learned and best practices and distribute them to other appropriate USDA agencies, and (b) ensure that agencies implement corrective actions in a timely manner to resolve identified weaknesses.

Develop and implement a written process to maintain a USDA website to provide useful resources related to agroterrorism that is readily available to all USDA constituents. As a part of this process, conduct an analysis to identify agroterrorism prevention, detection, and response information available on USDA and other Federal websites that can be included on this website.

Request updates or negative responses from all USDA agencies to update the SSP.