The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2020 the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) to raise global awareness of how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment and boost economic development. Plants are an integral part of biodiversity and are indispensable to life on Earth, particularly for the production of oxygen and the food they provide. Plants make up 80% of the food we eat and produce 98% of the oxygen we breathe, yet they are under constant and increasing threat from disease and pests. Each year up to 40% of the world’s crops are destroyed by disease and pests, resulting in trade losses, millions of hungry people and very severe damage to agriculture – the main source of income for poor rural communities. This is why policies and actions to promote plant health are key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Climate change and human activities are altering ecosystems, reducing biodiversity and creating new niches where pests can thrive. At the same time, international travel and trade has tripled in volume in the last decade and can quickly spread pests and diseases around the world, causing great damage to native plants and the environment.
“As with human or animal health, for plants prevention is better than cure,” FAO’s Director stressed.
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