Investment in innovation and outreach is vital to promoting plant health
Rome: The world today marked the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) for the first time, which was established following a decision in March 2022 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Being unanimously adopted in a resolution, championed by Zambia and co-signed by Bolivia, Finland, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania, the Day is a key legacy of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH), which was marked in 2020-2021. Following the first IDPH in 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations will organize celebrations for the Day every 12th of May at the global, regional, national and even farm levels.
Plants makeup 80% of the food we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe and yet they are under threat. Up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases every year. FAO said protecting them from pests and diseases is far more cost-effective than dealing with plant health emergencies. Once established, plant pests and diseases are often difficult to eradicate and should be controlled through sustainable pest and pesticide management.
The five goals of the IDPH are to increase awareness of the importance of keeping plants healthy to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger); a campaign to minimize the risk of spreading pests through trade and travel, by triggering compliance with international plant health standards; strengthen monitoring and early warning systems to protect plants and their health; enable sustainable pest and pesticide management to keep plants healthy while protecting the environment; and promote investment in plant health innovations, research, capacity development and outreach.
While FAO today called for more investment in innovation in a field crucial for boosting food security and transforming how our food is produced, delivered and consumed, four keynote speakers joined the celebrations to underline the importance of plant health. They were Finland’s Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Antti Kurvinen, Zambia’s Minister for Agriculture, Mtolo Phiri, US Under-Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Jenny Lester Moffitt and Argentina’s Permanent Representative to FAO, Carlos Cherniak.
“On this very first International Day of Plant Health, we will reflect on plant health innovations for food security,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his opening remarks, adding that investments are needed in research, capacity development and outreach. “We need to continue raising the global profile of plant health to transform agri-food systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.”
FAO has mapped out several priorities for plant health: fostering the development and implementation of the international standards on phytosanitary measures to protect global plant resources while facilitating safe trade; focusing on sustainable pest management and pesticides through the promotion of green and digital plant protection; and creating enabling surroundings for plant health by enhancing the health of soils, seeds and pollinators.
The organization has consistently stressed that protecting plant health is a major task and many actors have a role to play. Governments must prioritize plant health and its sustainable management in formulating policies and legislation; academia and research institutions must deliver science-based solutions; and non-governmental organizations, the private sector and resource organizations should help develop capacities and provide technical and financial support for best practices to prevent and manage plant pests and diseases.
– global bihari bureau
