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. 

Discover how early warning systems are helping spot plant health threats before they become crises - protecting crops, animals, ecosystems, and countless communities across the world. 

In the vast steppes and fertile fields of the Caucasus and Central Asia, what looks like a shimmer on the horizon can be the beginning of disaster: locusts - winged, ravenous, and relentless.

Each year, enormous flocks of red-billed quelea birds sweep across sub-Saharan Africa. Though each bird is small, together they can wipe out entire fields of sorghum, millet, rice and wheat within hours. 

A diverse group of scientists, researchers and international experts convened to share knowledge and exchange ideas aimed at developing innovative approaches for sustainable locust management. The workshop, themed “Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Locust Management”, examined research outcomes in advanced techniques to improve preventive control strategies, safe alternatives for locust management, and the impacts of climate change on locusts and their behaviour. 

Discover how agroecology works with nature to help protect plant, animal, human, and environmental health – making it a powerful tool for One Health.