- World
- May 12
International Day of Plant Health on May 12
• The United Nations observes the International Day of Plant Health on May 12.
• It aims to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic development.
• The Day is a key legacy of the International Year of Plant Health 2020.
• Plant health is the foundation of life and of food security, and is thus at the core of One Health which recognises the vital interconnection among human, animal and environmental health.
• This year’s theme is ‘Plant Biosecurity for Food Security and Nutrition’.
• The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) lead the celebrations globally.
Key points:
• Plants make up 80 per cent of the food we eat and produce 98 per cent of the oxygen we breathe.
• Plant pests and diseases are responsible for the loss of up to 40 per cent of global food crops, and for trade losses exceeding $220 billion in agricultural products annually.
• Pest-infested plants may also harbor harmful pathogens that can be transmitted to animals such as the Blue tongue virus that affects cattle and sheep, and can cause encephalitis in humans.
• Unhealthy plants also put fragile ecosystems in danger, affecting biodiversity.
• Fall Armyworm, which feeds on about 80 plant species, causes about $9.4 billion loss worth of crops annually.
• A 1 sq km-sized swarm of 40 million Desert Locusts could eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people.
• The annual value of trade in agricultural products has grown almost three-fold over the past decade, largely in emerging economies and developing countries, reaching $1.7 trillion.
• FAO estimates that agricultural production must rise by about 60 per cent by 2050 to feed a larger and generally richer population.
• Climate change threatens to reduce not only the quantity of crops, lowering yields, but also the nutritious value.
• Rising temperatures also mean that more plant pests and diseases are appearing earlier and in places they were never seen before.
What is the IPPC?
• The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a legally binding multilateral treaty established in 1951 and ratified by 185 contracting parties to protect plant health and report regulated pests worldwide.
• It makes provision for the application of measures by governments to prevent the introduction of harmful pests in their territories and cooperate to safeguard cultivated and wild plants, and facilitate their safe trade at the global level.
• India is a contracting party to the IPPC.
• The IPPC is the only standard setting organisation for plant health recognised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).
• The IPPC’s mission is to protect global plant resources from pests and diseases, and to facilitate safe trade of plant and agricultural products through developing and adopting harmonised measures for plant health and programmes that enable their implementation.
• By implementing International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), countries can reduce pest spread and minimise the impact of plant pests and diseases on food security, trade, economic growth and the environment.
• The IPPC is one of the “Three Sisters” recognised by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement, along with the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food safety standards and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) for animal health standards.