INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANT HEALTH 2020
Plant health is becoming increasingly important fact in agriculture. Healthy plants are source of all life on earth, because we can provide food safety, allow food price reduction and however we can even affect food availability and competitiveness on World market. Transfer of danger disease and pest becoming huge problem. Due to unfamiliarity with the biology of the new quarantine pest and climate change, any uncontrolled entry into the new environment means a major risk. This new quarantine pest can cause major economically damage, even in some circumstances the agriculture industry can decay.
In addition to closely monitoring the introduction of any new pest into new areas, we must protect the plants from plant diseases, pests and weeds, which are present there already. With every timely and correctly action against pests, we can completely limit their spread and we can keep the plants healthy. With this manner, we can ensure a healthy and competitive crop.
Because the lack of public awareness, The United Nations proclaimed year 2020 as International year of plant health. Public must aware, that prevention is necessarily required to stop of spreading of plant disease and pests. Instead of this, public must be aware of fact, that growers or farmers devote a great deal of effort to produce safety and qualitative food. Our Institute will take part together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection to involve in raising public awareness of the importance of plant health at all options through various events (seminars, lectures, conferences, workshops, open days , etc.).
Picture 1: Nymphs of bug on raspberry. Archive IHPS
The United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) also works in this organisation. IPPC is international convention, which has been enforced in year 1952. Organisation sets a limit for protecting of world plants sources before damages, which are caused by plant diseases and pests. It has currently 183 list of contracting states.
Key word of International Year of Plant Protection 2020
- Be careful when taking plants and plant products with you when you travel as they may spread plant pests and diseases. Contact your national plant health authority beforehand to make sure that you are not infringing plant health laws.
- Be cautious when ordering plants and plant products online or through postal services as small packages can easily bypass regular phytosanitary controls.
- Adopt environmentally friendly pest-management practices – including those based on biological approaches that do not kill pollinators, and beneficial insects and organisms.
- Protecting the environment by protecting healthy plants.
- we support plant health and investment in research and development
- Align policies and actions with sustainable development goals related to plant health, in particular those aimed at eliminating hunger and malnutrition and reducing poverty and threats to the environment.
- Strengthen monitoring and early warning systems to protect plants and plant health.
More about the International Year of Plant Health 2020 at the links below:
http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020
https://www.gov.si/novice/2019-12-31-leto-2020-bo-mednarodno-leto-zdravja-rastlin/
https://www.gov.si/zbirke/projekti-in-programi/mednarodno-leto-zdravja-rastlin/
The two links below include films, which presents International Year of Plant Health 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jixGX2vKWmY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us1BKwS-Z1o