Resilience and Homeland Security

Resilience and Homeland Security Final Assignment
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Resilience and Homeland Security Final Assignment
Essay 1: Plan for Boosting Resilience of the Agriculture and Food Systems
The agricultural and food systems’ critical infrastructure faces diverse domestic and external threats because of its interconnectedness and complexity. The White House (2022) reveals that its vulnerability to “chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats” demands systematic collaboration and coordination between Homeland Security and the Agricultural Department to remain alert and respond promptly to emerging disruptions. As the Secretary of Homeland Security, devising appropriate plans and working jointly with the Secretary of Agriculture is fundamental for repelling these diverse threats. Owing to the persistence and unpredictability of attacks, establishing a robust technological system optimized for monitoring all agricultural sectors, sharing intelligence across departments, and sharing response resources is a progressive plan for maximum resilience of the nation’s agriculture and food systems.
Exploiting the technological evolution and designing a single system focusing on the overall agricultural sector and food systems’ security has become an issue of urgency. This critical infrastructure is currently grappling with multifaceted threats with the potential for widespread destabilization. However, Rotz et al. (2019) acknowledge that the digital revolution has brought progressive inventions that the two departments can jointly leverage to boost the resilience of the infrastructure and avert adverse consequences of any attack. For instance, novel designs have ushered in an era of precision technologies that provide real-time data about the status of agricultural components. They include image-detection sensors, sound analysis equipment, and biosensors capable of providing data about diseases and unusual environmental conditions. Misra et al. (2020) agree that these technologies generate critical data that the agriculture sector can use for posterity. Rotz et al. (2019) also add that the predictive nature of this information further acts as an early warning system and informs appropriate responses. Since these technologies already exist, coming up with a plan that collates all this data and facilitates its joint use by the Homeland Security and Agriculture sector would promote real-time awareness of all the risks facing the industry. Such a plan promises to strengthen resilience drastically.
Implementing this strategy would eradicate the bottlenecks commonplace across departments and between one security sector and another. For instance, it would keep Homeland Security updated on the looming threats facing the agricultural industry, which leads to the readiness of appropriate resources to combat the hazard. White House (2022) indicates that providing strategic guidance in response to threats is a fundamental duty of Homeland Security to protect all critical infrastructure. In this context, the existence of a system that promotes seamless interactions between the two secretaries wo...