Exotic Pests And Diseases

Exotic pests and diseases have long been an important concern in agriculture. The problem is becoming increasingly urgent and complex because agricultural trade has been liberalized worldwide, and as a consequence, the probability of spreading a disease or a pest through national borders has become a real threat, not only for the agricultural industry but also for human health and the natural environment.

This edited volume’s list of international contributors reads like a Who’s Who of international agricultural research! This book includes ten interdisciplinary case studies that focus on specific pests or diseases that represent a range of threats to U.S. agriculture, wild lands and the urban landscape, and possible government responses to these threats. Each chapter combines, in an original fashion, biological foundations and implications for the public, giving powerful insights to a series of public policy issues of national and international relevance. In many instances, economic analysis of alternative policies is included.

Exotic pest control is discussed in a public good general framework, and under the international regulatory laws comprised by the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Protocol of the WTO.

Addressing a range of public policy questions related to control of exotic agricultural pests and diseases, 15 contributions are presented by Sumner (director of the U. of California's Agricultural Issues Center). Opening chapters explore broad questions such as the economics of policy, institutional and regulatory frameworks, international trade agreements, and historical perspectives. The remaining bulk of the material consists of case studies of policy evaluation related to such problems as mad cow disease in the UK, risk assessment of plant-parasitic nematodes, attempts to control red fire ants in California, and biological control of the ash whitefly in the urban environment. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Daniel A. Sumner is Director, University of California’s Agricultural Issues Center and Frank H. Buck, Jr. Professor, the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California—Davis.