The US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday designated two universities to lead two new homeland security centers of excellence on agro-security.

The Texas A&M University and the University of Minnesota have been chosen to lead the two new centers, to address security in two key agricultural sectors - foreign animal diseases and food security, the department said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said in the statement that the cooperative work of the two centers of excellence will help further the government's efforts to ensure the security of the nation's food supply and protect against foreign animal diseases.

The Department of Homeland Security will provide Texas A&M University, which has assembled a team of experts from across the country, and its partners with 18 million dollars over the next three years for the study of high consequence foreign animal and zoonotic diseases.

The center at the university, to be known as the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, will address potential threats to animal agriculture including foot-and-mouth disease, Rift Valley fever and Avian influenza, or bird flu.

The University of Minnesota and its partners will receive 15 million dollars over three years, and its center, known as the University Center for Post-Harvest Food Protection and Defense, will address agro-security issues related to post-harvest food protection.

In November 2003, the University of Southern California, partnering with some other universities, was chosen to house the first homeland security center of excellence, known as the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.

Source: Xinhua