The regional workshop on desert locust emergency preparedness and planning enhanced national preparedness and coordination mechanisms, facilitating timely and effective responses to outbreaks in locust-breeding and invasion countries.

When we think about global health crises, plant diseases rarely make the headlines. But as climate change accelerates the spread of agricultural pests and diseases worldwide, protecting plant health has become a critical component of ensuring the right to food for all.

In a bold step toward transforming agricultural resilience and biosafety in Southern Africa, Tanzania hosted a landmark regional training workshop focused on digitizing plant pest surveillance systems. The five-day workshop brought together experts from National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) across the  Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States, with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through two EU-funded projects: Support Towards the Operationalization of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy (STOSAR II) and Strengthening Plant Health Services in Tanzania for Enhanced Food Safety (STREPHIT). 

In agrifood systems, there are threats to human, animal and plant health that can develop at any point along the food chain. Among these are mycotoxins – toxic chemicals produced by fungi that develop quietly but that can have a big impact on livelihoods and can disrupt trade.

From 10-13 October, exhibitors from around the world will take visitors on an informative and entertaining journey of discovery along the value chains of field crops, horticulture, livestock, forestry and fisheries. Join us to see food production technologies, taste foods from various culinary traditions, hear from diverse agrifood system experts and engage in conversation. 

What happens when trees and crops grow on the same land? How do trees on farms - or at the edges of fields - help shape healthier communities and ecosystems? Around the world, crops and trees work as partners, creating systems that protect plant health, supporting healthy soils, and the well-being of people, animals, and the environment.

Locust specialists from countries across the Western and Central regions have successfully completed a rigorous two-year Master’s program in Locust Science Management, marking a significant step forward in strengthening regional expertise for sustainable desert locust control.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been working for years with Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to combat locust infestations. The Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan, H.E. Qurbon Hakimzoda and Ms Assem Abdrimova from the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, visited the FAO’s Swiss Center for Locust and Migratory Pests at its headquarters in Rome, to learn more about the FAO's efforts in supporting countries in managing locust outbreaks.

Billions across the world depend on invisible benefits known as ecosystem services that plants provide - yet rarely recognize them as the life-support networks they are. When plant health is threatened, these services collapse, putting human, animal, and environmental health at risk.

Across the world, climate change is shifting the delicate balance that keeps plants – and everything they support - healthy. As temperatures rise, rains become less predictable, and extreme weather strikes more often, plant pests and diseases are spreading in ways not seen before.