• £10 million in new Government funding for surveillance programme will further strengthen the country's biosecurity to protect animals, plants, people and trade.
• Animal & Plant Health Agency-led project involves experts across animal, plant and aquatic health.
• This innovative use of world leading technology could be vital in tackling endemic and emerging diseases of animals and plants. 

The fight against pests and diseases, which can cost the UK economy billions of pounds, has been stepped up today (Thursday 8 May) with £10m of new funding announced for surveillance projects.

The Genomics for Animal and Plant Disease Consortium (GAP-DC) project led by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will undertake surveillance across animal, plant and aquatic environments, using advanced genome sequencing technologies – a method that reads the complete genetic code of a living organism, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, or animals – to detect, identify and track pathogens with precision. For example, when avian influenza is found in UK poultry, genome sequencing can help confirm the virus type, trace its spread, and detect any mutations, supporting disease control measures.

The UK faces significant and growing economic threats from pests and diseases affecting agriculture, livestock, and the environment. Invasive species alone cost the UK economy an estimated £4 billion annually, while plant pathogens and pests contribute to substantial crop losses. Ash dieback is predicated to cost £15 billion to the UK over coming decades and livestock disease such as avian influenza can have devastating financial and societal consequences, and has been estimated to cost the poultry meat sector more than £100m over a two-year period.

APHA Interim Chief Executive Dr Jenny Stewart said:

"Disease presents a significant risk to our farmers, global trade and human health.

"This vital funding and collaboration with world leading experts will help APHA identify and tackle disease risk more effectively.

"This research will lead to significantly advanced surveillance capabilities to protect UK borders from new and existing threats."

Research to be undertaken in collaboration with seven expert partners will include a focus on increasing the speed of pathogen detection at our borders, addressing new and re-emerging disease outbreaks, developing new strategies to control and mitigate endemic disease, and an improved approach to working with stakeholders and the community. It will also investigate disease spillover from wild animals and plants – when a virus moves from one species to other, such as the transmission of the COVID-19 virus from bats to humans.

The £10 million of new funding provided by Defra and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will strengthen pathogen detection across the UK over the next two years and help protect the UK economy, as part of the Government's Plan for Change.

The announcement comes during National Plant Health Week (5-12 May 2025), an annual designated week of action to raise public awareness and engagement on how to keep our plants healthy, led by Defra in partnership with 32 organisations, including the Royal Horticultural Society, the Woodland Trust and the Horticultural Trades Association.