The Foreign Service Journal, April 2022

26 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL In its first decade, APHIS’ new Foreign Service focused primarily on operational efforts—for instance, building capacity in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to eradicate African swine fever. penal colony in South America.) The larval stage of the fly bores into wounds and eats living flesh, causing disfigurement and, in some cases, death. Screwworms once killed millions of dollars’ worth of cattle every year in the southern United States from Florida to California and infected deer, squirrels, pets and the occasional human, as well. So, in addition to protecting public health, the eradication of NWS generates some $900 million in benefits to U.S. producers, according to the USDA, and some $2.8 billion per year in general economic benefits. The medfly is similarly devastating for fruits and vegetables. It affects the production and trade of more than 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables and is considered one of the most important agricultural pests in the world. The cost-benefit ratio of controlling medfly has been estimated at more than 150 to 1, with tens of billions of U.S. dollars per year in benefits for the United States. One Department, Two Foreign Services By the early 1970s, the world was changing rapidly, and nowhere more than in the arena of agricultural com- merce. As free trade policies allowed more agricultural goods to be shipped around the world, consumers every- where demanded more agricultural imports, such as fruit, that could be avail- able year-round. But with these welcome develop- ments, and a surge in tourist and business travel, came increased risks of introducing serious animal and plant diseases or pests. To consolidate its response to potential agricultural threats, USDA launched APHIS on April 2, 1972. U.S. Ambassador William Kennard, at left, and Mrs. Kennard visit the APHIS bulb preclearance program in the Netherlands in 2009. Inset: Dutch tulips. APHISBRUSSELS And just eight years later, the Foreign Service Act of 1980 granted U.S. Foreign Service status to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and to “other personnel” in the department deemed “necessary.” When APHIS was also granted Foreign Service authority in 1982 through Executive Order 12363, USDA became the only federal department with two separate Foreign Service agencies, each with a distinct, but complementary, mandate. The Foreign Agricultural Service, with 147 members today, links U.S. agri- culture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global KARENSLITER