Protecting Plant Health for a Food Secure Future

20 May 2020, Washington, DC - The United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. To help achieve the goals of the IYPH, FAO North America and Corteva Agriscience co-hosted a virtual roundtable on Protecting Plant Health for a Secure Future: A Call for Global Action. The webinar provided an opportunity for experts working in the public and private sectors to share their work on plant health amid COVID-19 in a discussion moderated by Professor Kira L. Bowen, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University and Past President of the American Phytopathological Society (ADS).

In his opening remarks, Vimlendra Sharan, Director of FAO North America urged participants to “treat the year as the launch and not the culmination of a discussion on plant health.” He emphasized that once the global community emerges from the health pandemic, we must regroup and refocus international attention on plant health.

Henri Moore, Vice President of Global Responsibility at Corteva Agriscience, joined Sharan in welcoming participants to the session. Moore highlighted the importance of partnerships, innovation, and “the shared goal between FAO and Corteva Agriscience to empower smallholder farmers to improve food and nutrition security around the world.” Furthermore, she added that Corteva Agriscience “is committed to enriching the lives of those who produce the food we eat.”

Jingyuan Xia, Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat hosted by FAO provided keynote remarks. During his presentation, Xia emphasized that “protecting plant health is fundamental for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals as plant pests and diseases cause up to 40 percent of global food crop losses, as well as economic losses of US$220 billion in the trade of agricultural products.” As the Coordinator of the International Year on Plant Health, he also highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on plant health and strategies the IPPC is undertaking to mitigate them. He noted that the pandemic is proving that prevention is always better than the cure and that this applies to the health of humans, animals and plants.

Osama El-Lissy, Deputy Administrator for Plant Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlighted the importance of safeguarding agriculture and facilitating trade. He discussed how APHIS is using risk-based sampling, advanced analytics, and electronic certification to prevent pest risks and threats. APHIS is sharing these techniques with partners around the world.

Frederic Beudot, Biologicals Leader, Corteva Agriscience noted the importance of plant health for smallholder farmer’s productivity and for global food security. He stated that through partnerships, Corterva Agriscience is increasing access to technologies and advancing sustainable farming practices to smallholder farmers and growing its business in emerging economies.

Marius Boshoff, Marketing Director, Villa Crop Protection Pvt Ltd, Land O’ Lakes, highlighted how the member-owned cooperative is collaborating with local institutions and experts to connect entrepreneurs and businesses to the resources they need while facilitating innovative, customized solutions using agronomic expertise, local insights, robust data, and tailored technologies. “Technology is great, but agronomy is local,” he underlined, as he noted the importance of listening to farmers when offering solutions to pest management.

Multiple speakers underscored that plants are a primary source of income for nearly half of the global population and makeup 80 percent of the food consumed around the world. As the current COVID-19 outbreak experience highlights, we need to protect plants from the ravages of plant pests. The session underscored the importance of adopting preventive measures and collaborating across sectors to secure the future of our food security.

Watch the webinar: https://bit.ly/0520Recording

Learn more about the 2020 International Year of Plant Health (IYPH).