International Day of Plant Health

 Contact the media and call on them to spread the call for action and share plant health messages widely in print or online media . You can also try to initiate or take part in discussion panels, press conferences, media briefings and in radio or TV call-in or talk shows .   Organize a plant health media workshop where journalists have a chance to meet and make contact with plant protection officers, scientists, researchers, etc .

 Check out the IDPH Information site and register for the event. Invite your friends and colleagues, too!

 Let us know how you’re celebrating the  International Day of Plant Health . There are various ways to celebrate Plant Health. We encourage you to share details about your events or initiatives by sending us an email on the event details, photos, videos and links to your website and social media posts at idph@fao.org. We’d love to feature your events in the post-event Impact Report! See for example past celebrations around the world in the 2023 IDPH Impact Report and celebrations in 2022 .

• An adult Desert Locust can consume roughly its own weight, about 2 grams, in food every day. A 1 km2 -sized swarm of 40 million Desert Locust could eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35 000 people. • Plants make up 80% of the food we eat and produce 98% of the oxygen we breathe. • Plant pests and Plant diseases are responsible for the loss of up to 40%of global food crops, and for trade losses exceeding USD 220 billion in agricultural products annually . • FAO estimates that agricultural production must rise by about 60% by 2050 in order 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. • Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is one of the most ubiquitous and destructive crop pests in the world, feasting on more than 80

  Governments, policy makers and legislators need to prioritize plant health and protection, recognizing that it is fundamental to achieving the 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG2, Zero Hunger. Policies and legislation need to address and prevent pest and disease outbreaks and promote sustainable pests and pesticides management, while strengthening monitoring and reporting, and facilitating safe trade. They should ensure compliance with international plant health standards, invest in plant-health innovations, research and capacity development and empower national and regional plant protection organizations.   The general public should be aware of the risks involved in bringing plants and plant products across borders that may harbor pests and diseases. We need to be careful when ordering plants and plant products through channels such as e-commerce with postal services that bypass regular phytosanitary controls. It is important to purchase from reputable companies that provide internatio

 Governments, policy makers and legislators need to prioritize plant health and protection , recognizing that it is fundamental to achieving the 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG2, Zero Hunger . Policies and legislation need to address and prevent pest and disease outbreaks and promote sustainable pests and pesticides management , while strengthening monitoring and reporting , and facilitating safe trade. They should ensure compliance with international plant health standards , invest in plant-health innovations, research and capacity development and empower national and regional plant protection organizations .