A special 2 euro coin to promote the International Year of Plant Health

In March, the Royal Mint of Belgium unveiled its first 2 euro coin for the year of 2020. The coin, which bears the logo of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH), was presented in the Belgian Royal Institute of Natural Sciences together with the Belgian Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment.

"The coin not only gives visibility to the International Year, but also raises the awareness of the general public on the importance of plant health,” said Belgian Minister of Agriculture and Food Safety Denis Ducarme. The Director of the FAO Liaison Office, Rodrigo de Lapuerta, highlighted the work of FAO on plant health and underlined FAO’s strong partnership with the Kingdom of Belgium over the past 75 years. “Among the top priorities of our partnership is sustaining plant health, in particular through supporting the development and implementation of the standards of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC),” he said. Also speaking at the event were Chairman of the IYPH International Steering Committee, Ralf Lopian, and Deputy Head of Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), Harry Arijs.