High-Level Conference to Support the NENA Plant Health Strategy Opening Remarks

Excellencies, the Ministers of Agriculture from the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region,

His Excellency Michele Emiliano, Governor of the Puglia Region,

Donor Partners,

My esteemed colleague Michele Raeli, Director of CIHEAM-Bari, and all the CIHEAM colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

I am so pleased to be here with you in Bari, a city that has become a hub for agricultural innovation and collaboration in the Mediterranean region.

My deep appreciation goes to the Italian Government, for its long-term collaboration and support to FAO as our host country, and to the Puglia Region for its continued support to CIHEAM, and for the warm hospitality in hosting us for this important conference.

In particular, I wish to thank the Governor of the Puglia Region, His Excellency Michele Emiliano, for sharing his personal experience with us, first as a judge, and then of his deep understanding of the value of plant health and plant pests and diseases, which affect not only plants, but also the soil and the economy – this is truly remarkable for a politician and we should appreciate him!

I would also like to thank the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies – CIHEAM – in Bari for our strong, impactful and long-term partnership, which dates back to its establishment in 1962, especially for the commitment and support over more than sixty years to the region, subregion and beyond.

Bari is a very strategic and historic location as it is the midpoint between Italy and Europe at large, as well as the Maghreb region and eastern parts of the Arab Peninsula.

It is an honour for me as FAO Director-General to come to CIHEAM – the first time in the history of our collaboration for a FAO Director-General to come to Bari to visit CIHEAM - and I am also honoured to welcome all of you to this High-Level Conference to Support the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Regional Plant Health Strategy.

Your presence here today reflects your ongoing commitment to addressing the critical challenge of transboundary plant pests and diseases in the NENA region, and beyond. It also reflects appreciation for the important training provided to students from your region by CIHEAM; it is an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences, as well as to see how to further strengthen collaboration between your countries, your region, your subregion and CIHEAM, together with FAO – this is true Triangular Cooperation!

Since I took office as FAO Director-General in 2019, I established the Office for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, to reflect the importance of not only cooperating bilaterally between countries in the south, but also the critical need to cooperate triangularly in an open and inclusive manner to also include countries from the north, together with FAO.

Please use FAO as your key global platform and meeting point, with the most extensive network on food and agriculture worldwide. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your presence today sends a clear message: plant health is critical for food security and nutrition, sustainable development, and resilience across the NENA region, and globally.

And I hope it will confirm the donor funding needed to achieve our common objectives.

Today, we also mark the International Day of Plant Health - a day established through the efforts of FAO and its Members and is now recognized globally.

This follows on work undertaken during the International Year of Plant Health 2020, which was a FAO led initiative, to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.

Biodiversity is the basis for food diversity. And biodiversity comes from the protection of our genetic resources, and includes the resilience and tolerance of plants. Therefore, plant health is key to protecting and ensuring biodiversity.

Scientifically, it is critical that we have an integrated pest and disease management (IPM) strategy that encompasses agronomy, breeding and soil management, as well as the responsible use of pesticides and insecticides.

Bacteria – such as Xylella Fastidiosa - is very difficult to manage as it is very difficult to select the genetic resistant varieties, and therefore requires a more approach such as through gene editing to develop resistant varieties for vector plants.

And perhaps even more important for governments, is that you need to train the farmers, especially smallholder farmers, and the producers for a comprehensive approach to finding solutions to screen bacteria-free seedling propagation. This requires small investment, leading to big impact, working together with CIHEAM and FAO. This is a technical solution.

Furthermore, digital technology is key to identifying infected free (green) areas, and to separate and localize infected areas (red areas) – this is an administrative solution, at the local government level, to manage the spread of plant pests and diseases and prevent a pandemic.

Another critical aspect are quarantine centers – a word that originates from Italian and it means forty days! Now, perhaps even just 14 days is sufficient to isolate infected farms, but it is imperative that quarantine regulations be followed.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

International Day of Plant Health serves as a reminder that protecting plants is essential to life on Earth.

Plant protection is not only about safeguarding crops - it is fundamental to ensuring sustainable agrifood systems, preserving biodiversity, and securing millions of livelihoods.

Healthy plants mean healthy food, healthy ecosystems, and healthy economies.

Healthy plants are also vital for human and animal health; and they are a cornerstone of the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment are deeply interconnected.

Every year, up to 40 percent of global crop production is lost to plant pests and diseases, causing economic damage of more than USD 220 billion annually.

These losses threaten food security and nutrition, rural livelihoods, and national economies, particularly in regions already vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, as well as conflict, as in many parts of the Near East and North Africa region, but not only.

Across the NENA region, transboundary plant pests and diseases are challenging our collective efforts to transform agrifood systems, safeguard biodiversity, and support rural economies.

Transboundary pests and diseases know no borders, move fast and overpower national capacities. Today, no country can address these challenges alone. Regional, and global, solidarity and cooperation are essential, partnerships are fundamental, and funding is critical.

Without sufficient funding we cannot effectively address transboundary pests and diseases.

Without funding we cannot implement effective science-based, innovative solutions.

We need to convert donor pledges into effective donor funding.

We need to walk the talk. This is why we are all gathered here today.

And more importantly, if we want to succeed we need peace, we need solidarity, we need patience and we need passion! Patience is critical, but it means nothing without passion!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The NENA region, with its rich agricultural heritage, is especially vulnerable to transboundary pests and diseases due to traditional farming systems, arid climates, limited water resources, and increasing instability. The NENA Regional Strategy on Plant Health, developed jointly by FAO and CIHEAM-Bari, provides a comprehensive framework to strengthen plant protection capacities, harmonize phytosanitary measures, enhance regional cooperation, and promote innovation. This high-level conference is a milestone in our joint work, it follows on the commitments made during the 36th and 37th Sessions of the FAO Regional Ministerial Conferences for the Near East, and builds on the momentum of the 2023 Bari Declaration.

Now, we need to turn these commitments into tangible actions on the ground.

Commitments without funding are only empty promises.

This conference provides us with an important opportunity to move from strategy to action, enabling us to act, and to fund our commitments.

Dear Funding Partners,

Your support today will have a lasting impact on food security and nutrition, rural livelihoods, and trade stability.

Investing in plant health is not a cost, it is a multiplier of development.

Together with our donor partners, we also call upon government ministers and policy leaders to provide the leadership needed to integrate the NENA Regional Strategy on Plant Health into national programs, strengthen regulatory systems, and create enabling environments to ensure the funding received translates into concrete results.

You are the bridge between the donors and the farmers on the ground.

All our partners, from researchers to farmers to the private sector, need to contribute together - your expertise, innovation, and engagement are also critical to ensure successful implementation.

Through our collective efforts, we can efficiently, effectively and coherently support the protection of plants against pests and diseases, enabling more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems, and healthier ecosystems.

Ensuring plant health is key to producing more with less, to ensure enough, nutritious foods for all. Our collective work on plant health for the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life- leaving no one behind.

The Four Betters are the foundation of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31. Within this Framework, we are advancing plant health efforts through science, innovation, and strengthened international cooperation, building a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

This year, FAO celebrates its 80th Anniversary – it was formally established in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II, but was initiated already in 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt - and for eight decades FAO has been advancing sustainable agriculture, protecting natural resources, and improving lives.

Plant health has been central to this mission. Today, we remain as committed as ever to safeguarding our agrifood systems, our environment, and our future.

FAO's founding conference was organized 'to consider the goal of freedom from want in relation to food and agriculture'. It was recognized that 'freedom from want means a secure, an adequate, and a suitable supply of food for every man' - this is enshrined in the FAO Constitution.

Today, more than ever before, we continue to affirm that the right to food is a basic human right.

But we still have a lot of work to do; to honour the historic memory of our forefathers, and to do more and better together for future generations.

I also take this opportunity to invite our donor friends to participate in the annual FAO World Food Forum taking place from 14 to 18 October at FAO headquarters in Rome, and specifically in the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum which has become, since I established it in 2019, a globally recognized go-to event for agrifood investments.

This year’s Investment Forum will showcase agrifood investment cases from 28 participating member countries and five regional initiatives, under the global theme of “Hand-in-Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”.

This theme underscores the vital role of global collaboration in creating a sustainable, equitable, and foods secure future.

Dear Colleagues, Partners and Friends,

Let us continue to work together, guided by science and innovation, to build a better future for all where plants and people thrive together.

Let us ensure we have the funding needed to ensure a better, more foods-secure world for all.

FAO is committed to continue supporting you.

Thank you.