Key Takeaways
- The University of Warwick is leading PhytoPRISM, a €6 million EU Horizon project bringing together 15 research institutions and stakeholders across eight countries to build Europe's first coordinated pest management platform.
- The platform will allow plant health authorities to model and optimise pest control strategies across the full agri-value chain — from preventing pest entry to long-term management — for the first time.
- Six high-profile European quarantine pest case studies will validate the system, with outputs designed to be extensible to more than 60 closely related quarantine pests.
- Partners include IVIA, the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), and the Assembly of European Horticultural Regions (AREFLH), alongside research institutions across eight countries.
- The project will also produce training materials, e-learning modules, and contingency planning tools, and represents a tangible outcome of the UK's association to the Horizon Europe programme.
Europe's Plant Health Gap and Why University of Warwick Is Addressing It
The University of Warwick is leading a €6 million EU Horizon project called PhytoPRISM, bringing together 15 research institutions and stakeholders across eight countries to build Europe's first integrated platform for coordinating responses to transboundary agricultural and forest pest threats.
Plant pests — including insects and pathogens — destroy up to 40% of agricultural yields globally each year and pose a growing threat to forest ecosystems. Driven by global trade and climate change, the continual arrival of new pest species directly cuts across European priorities around sustainable food production, biodiversity, and pesticide reduction. Despite the scale of the problem, Europe has lacked the tools to mount a system-level response: plant health authorities have relied on piecemeal, siloed measures rather than coordinated strategies across the full agri-value chain.
What the PhytoPRISM Platform Will Deliver
Led by Dr. Stephen Parnell of Warwick's School of Life Sciences, PhytoPRISM will give plant health authorities the ability to model and optimise pest control strategies across the entire agri-value chain for the first time — covering everything from preventing pest entry to long-term population management.
“Until now, plant health authorities have had to make critical decisions without ever being able to see the full picture. They can apply individual measures but have no way of knowing how those measures interact, or whether they are getting the best outcome for their investment. PhytoPRISM brings together the best of modern epidemiological modelling with the real-world knowledge of the people on the frontline, giving them, for the first time, the tools to make smarter, faster, and more cost-effective decisions.” — Dr. Stephen Parnell, University of Warwick
The open-access platform will be co-designed with plant health authorities, producers, foresters, and advisors. Six high-profile European quarantine pest case studies will validate the system, with outputs built to extend to more than 60 closely related quarantine pests. The project will also produce training materials, e-learning modules, and contingency planning tools to strengthen preparedness across Europe.
Systems-level modelling of this kind sits within a broader shift in how data and computational tools are being applied to anticipate and manage crop health threats — moving the industry away from reactive, single-measure responses toward integrated, evidence-based strategies.
University of Warwick's Research Partners Across Eight Countries
The PhytoPRISM consortium spans research institutions, plant protection organizations, and regional horticultural bodies. Dr. Antonio Vicent, Head of the Plant Protection Department at IVIA and Chair of the EFSA Plant Health panel, noted that the project will deliver science-based risk management tools across the full food chain, contributing to safer international trade for crops threatened by invasive pests entering through global commerce.
Dr. Rob Tanner, Senior Scientific Officer at the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), pointed to the value of having harmonized, scientifically sound management options available to National Plant Protection Organizations across the region through a single open-access platform.
The Assembly of European Horticultural Regions (AREFLH) also joins as a partner, reflecting the pressure that escalating pest and disease threats place on Europe's fruit and vegetable sector and the need for cross-border solutions to protect crop quality and food system stability.
Pesticide Reduction, Climate Adaptation, and UK-EU Research Ties
By cutting reliance on synthetic pesticides, improving cost-effectiveness across the value chain, and enabling more targeted responses to climate-driven pest dynamics, PhytoPRISM aims to contribute to more stable and sustainable food and forestry systems across the continent. The project is also a concrete result of the UK's association to the Horizon Europe programme, signalling renewed research collaboration between UK and EU institutions on shared agricultural challenges.
