How Plant Protection and Quarantine Officials Are Using Analytics

Ordering online is so easy today that it can actually become dangerous for America’s agricultural and natural resources. Consumers and companies can order agricultural products with a few mouse clicks, not knowing the seller is overseas. Then the seller could ship illegal seeds, plants, fruits, or other items via mail from far away. What’s inside those foreign packages could introduce devastating plant pests and diseases into our country. The result: severe damage to crops, ecosystems, and the livelihoods of many Americans who depend on those resources.

That’s where USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) comes in. The Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) unit works closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and together they intercept restricted and prohibited agricultural items arriving in the U.S. through the mail. They’ve been using the sharp noses of detector dogs to help sniff out illegal shipments at the facilities receiving these packages. But PPQ is also developing another “sharp nose” for the job: data analytics and visualization.

How does it work? Click here to learn more.