Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Plant Health

Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Plant Health

Opening Remarks by

Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

1 July 2021

As prepared

 

Honourable Ministers, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Today we celebrate the successful close of the International Year of Plant Health.

2. Congratulations to the global plant health community, led by the government of Finland, who championed this initiative.

3. The key objectives of the International Year were to:

• raise awareness of the importance of healthy plants in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals;
• highlight the impact of plant health on food security and ecosystem functions;
• increase resources dedicated to plant health; and
• trigger partnerships and sharing of best practices on how to keep plants healthy.

4. I am proud to say that, despite the difficult circumstances, we succeeded in achieving these objectives.

5. The International Year of Plant Health has been a collective effort, involving national, regional, and global actors in hundreds of events and initiatives.

Dear Colleagues,

6. The International Year’s slogan is ‘’protecting plants, protecting life’’.

7. It embodies the concept that plants are life.

8. They provide over 80% of the food we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe.

9. Although the official Year ends here, our work will continue.

10. A lot still needs to be done!

11. For plant health, as much as for human health, prevention is always better than a cure.

12. And it is imperative that we continue to raise awareness at all levels of the beneficial effects of plant health on food security, poverty reduction and environmental protection.

13. The International Year of Plant Health has already left, among others, three important legacies:

• A scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests, and consequently on plant health.
• The First International Plant Health Conference, in May 2022, will bring together the global experts community to discuss key scientific, technical and regulatory plant health issues.
• The 42^nd FAO Conference endorsed the International Day of Plant Health. The proposal will be considered by the UN General Assembly at its 76th Session. We hope to celebrate the first International Day of Plant Health on 12 May 2022, and every year after that!
  
  

Ladies and Gentlemen,

14. FAO’s new Strategic Framework 2022-2031 aims to support the achievement of Agenda 2030 through the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.

15. And protecting plants is essential towards achieving this.

16. I would like to express my appreciation for the commitment that governments and stakeholders have shown throughout this International Year.

17. FAO will continue collaborating with all of you, to advance the legacies of the International Year of Plant Health, in support of achieving better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

18. Thank you.