International Day of Plant Health Opening Remarks

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

I am so happy to see so many colleagues, Ambassadors, Representatives, Friends, joining us for this event.

Yesterday was the International Day of Plant Health. For me, yesterday was also an important day because it was Mother’s Day!

Mothers are more important than plants, that is why we celebrate the International Day of Mothers.

On social media, I received many good wishes because even though I am not a mother, I come from my mother.

I really appreciate all the mothers. I also take mothers’ passion and commitment to this planet. That is what we can learn from Mother’s Day.

Welcome to this year’s celebration of the International Day of Plant Health.

This day is especially close to me. As you know I am a plant geneticist and plant scientist.

What exactly is “plant health”?  Simply said, it is the absence or prevention of disease or pests - and it involves biology, ecology, and agronomy, as well as pathology and entomology.

Safeguarding the health of plants means that we are safeguarding the health of the planet.

From the food on our tables to the air we breathe, plants play an indispensable role in sustaining life.

Why should we come together today to step up efforts to protect plant health?  Here are a few important thoughts:

Sometimes I hear complaints that there are too many International Days, but we need to use these occasions to highlight important issues related to agriculture and rural development.

For example, 15 October is International Rural Women Day, 16 October is World Food Day and 17 October is International Day for the Elimination of Poverty.

Next year we will also celebrate the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Another important day, for example, is World Cotton Day on 7 October.

For us, it may be one of many international days, but for the cotton industry it is an important day, and its importance is recognized by the WTO, UNIDO and even the IAEA who have joined to celebrate the day.

We should always try to make these days the most useful, more impactful, and more meaningful.

So, why is the International Day of Plant Health so important?

First: plants are a source of food and contribute to global food security.

They provide 80 percent of our food and are a part of stable and sustainable ecosystems.

It is unacceptable that 40 percent of crops (including non-food agriproducts) are lost each year due to pests and diseases.

These pests and diseases destroy crops, significantly reducing yields and limiting the availability of nutritious food.

Second: plant health is critical for mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis.

Plants are the lungs of the earth. They are part of the important “green” made up of plants and of course trees.

Plants are important because they provide us with food and agricultural products, but also non-food products like fiber crops.

As much as 98 percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from plants.

Thriving vegetation helps mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and regulating local weather patterns.

Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns have increased the movement of certain pests into areas where they had not previously been reported – this will require us to scale up efforts to control these pests and their impacts.

Because of global warming, there are more pests and diseases especially in the temperate regions, with increased occurrence of diseases and even epidemics due to the increase in temperature and moisture. In the sub-tropical and tropical regions, the change is not felt as much.

Third: healthy plants are key to avoiding disruptions in international trade.

Around 220 billion US Dollars in economic losses are due to pests and diseases.

Plant health standards must be applied by trading countries to ensure that products like wood packaging and sea containers that are pathways for pests are effectively managed.

Fourth: plant health is the foundation of One Health.

I have said it so many times: One Health is not only limited to animal diseases or zoonotic diseases. We need to start with plant health first because animals are eating more and more animal feed, and most of the animal feed comes from crops such as soybeans and maize. And animal feed will affect animal health, and so on along the whole food chain.

One Health is linked to plant health, soil health, environmental health, animal health and human health. 

Unhealthy plants impact animal health because they may contain harmful pathogens and other residuals from heavy metals and chemicals that can be consumed and transmitted through the animals, which can lead to zoonotic diseases, and other animal health conditions that then create biotic toxins.

Biotic toxins are not the outcome from residuals but come from secondary metabolism. That is a little bit of science that affects the health of both animals and people.

Dear Colleagues,

FAO and the International Plant Protection Convention play an important role in protecting plants and safeguarding food security, protecting the environment, and promoting safe trade.

I’m confident that we have the innovation and technological tools at our disposal to support countries in achieving these objectives.

For example, the ePhyto Solution is helping make international trade of agricultural products faster, safer, and more efficient.

I am pleased that more than 120 countries have adopted this system.

Managing the e-commerce pathway for pests is key to preventing their further entry and spread in agricultural areas.

We have also developed the Africa Phytosanitary Programme, to support countries in detecting plant pests of economic and environmental significance.

Adopting the latest digital technology in pest surveillance and reporting through this Programme is an important step forward, especially in this region where food insecurity remains high.

When we develop and make technological advancements available and accessible, it enhances our collective work in protecting plants.

We also helped develop maize varieties that are resistant to fall armyworm, stem borers and drought, using modern plant breeding techniques in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Adopting these insect-resistant varieties means farmers use less insecticides and increase their productivity and profitability and are environmentally friendly.

I think that transgenic cotton is one of the good examples over the past 20 years. It has revolutionized with reducing their use of insecticides by 90 percent in major cotton producing areas in the world.

We have to take new technologies, especially biotechnologies, more seriously to address biotic and abiotic stresses. That is one the key challenges of global warming and the climate crisis.

Drought and flood tolerance in rice comes from biotechnology.

We need to use all the tools in the toolbox to fix the problems and challenges together.

Of course, we can combine it with traditional technologies.

I have just come back from a visit to Cornell University where I took a deep dive into discussions with relevant scientists and their global development programme and learned that they are going to establish a global development school. They have a lot of activities, especially in West Sahara and Southeast Asia. So, we need to work more with such knowledge hubs.

We cannot only talk about political will and solutions; we also need technical back-up to implement our ideas and solutions. Otherwise, there are no real tangible results happening on the ground.  

Dear Friends,

There is an inseparable link between plant protection and agricultural production.

Without healthy plants we will not have more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable agrifood systems.

By making plant health a priority, we can contribute to the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life – leaving no one behind.

I wish you an enjoyable International Day of Plant Health and remember to always keep yourselves healthier and keep our plants healthier!

Thank you.