ASSESSING TOMATO PRODUCERS' VULNERABILITY TO PEST RISK (BEMISIA TABACI/TYLCV) FOR A BETTER RISK GOVERNANCE

Because of global warming associated with increasing global trade, French productions are and will be increasingly subject to new bio-invasions. Thus, the emergence of the plant virus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and its vector Bemisia tabaci, an invasive species of whitefly of tropical origin, has destabilized the French sector of tomato production under greenhouses. Thanks to the BemisiaRisk project mainly funded by the French National Research Agency, we developed a tool to help tomato-growing farmers to control risks associated to the TYLCV by minimizing their vulnerability. This tool has been developed in close cooperation with stakeholders who helped scientists to identify relevant vulnerability indicators and the different criteria and specific parameters that characterise those indicators as exhaustively as possible. These indicators, criteria and parameters were ranked and prioritised to fit the model “Flux de dangers” (hazards’ flow), developed by CRC MINES-ParisTech. Finally, a computer implementation of the tool was achieved in the form of a multiple choice questionnaire. For each question, the user is proposed 5 answers, each one reflecting a greater or lesser vulnerability for a given criterion or parameter. Following an appropriate compilation of the answers, a vulnerability diagram is obtained allowing the producer to be aware of his strengths and weaknesses to manage the risk of a TYLCV invasion. Setting up a leading organisation that would centralise all producers’ answers would be the best method to get the full benefit of the tool, whether at individual or organisational level.