Observed worldwide, international days and weeks initiated by the United Nations have become a powerful tool to educate and create awareness about global concerns. These have also evolved as an effective advocacy mechanism due to their ability to influence multiple stakeholders to strategize policy decisions and collectively allocate resources for addressing challenges. One such day is the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH), designated on 12th May by the UN to promote awareness about plant health by highlighting their role in ending poverty and hunger while enabling economic development and environmental protection. The day has been critical in continuing the legacy of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) declared in 2020 by the UN, with the theme for 2024 being Plant health, safe trade, and digital technology. Plant health is also closely associated with the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically goals 1 (No poverty), 2 (zero hunger), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 12 (Responsible consumption), 13 (Climate action) and 15 (Life on land).
Plants comprise approximately 80 percent of the food source and generate nearly 98 percent of oxygen. This makes plant health crucial due to its significant consequences on human and animal health and its critical role in food security, employment through agriculture, pharmaceutical input, and as part of healthy environments. According to the UN, food security reflects on multiple complex aspects, from production, processing, and distribution to accessibility and availability. In this regard, the availability and safety of plants are greatly influenced by diseases and pests as they impact yield and quality. Measures such as spraying pesticides to treat and prevent diseases could affect the health of consumers and agricultural laborers while developing resistant characteristics. Food plants may also serve as potential carriers of harmful pathogens and microbes. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 600 million cases and 420,000 deaths occur due to unsafe food globally, with children accounting for 30 percent of the deaths. These figures highlight the need for political attention, especially in developing countries, to mobilize resources to strengthen plant safety since they are one of the essential sources of foodborne outbreaks.
In addition, conserving biological diversity and ensuring healthy ecosystems are crucial for a healthy environment for the plants to thrive. Invasive and alien species have, however, become a threat to biodiversity, leading to its loss while affecting food production, forests, and aquatic ecosystems. The case of freshwater snails (Pomacea canaliculata), an invasive species, has caused significant threats to rice production in the Mwea region of Kenya. Rice production is an essential factor in Kenya in terms of increasing household food security and income while also helping to decrease the dependency on maize. However, the incidence of the snail species could give rise to dreadful consequences in Kenya and other neighboring rice producers in the continent. The species has resulted in increased use of pesticides by farmers and additional labor to remove the eggs and snails physically. Therefore, increasing the overall cost incurred and reducing the net income. Further, climate change has created a favorable platform for the breeding and proliferating of plant pests and diseases. The increase in temperature also impacts the plant lifecycle, leading to shortened maturity and lesser yield. Extreme climate weather events such as extreme precipitation, heat waves, and drought affect the balance of ecosystems and disturb plant growth. For instance, a 40 percent fall in maize yields in parts of Eastern Europe and Southeast Africa is attributed to the combined effect of dryness and heat.
The signing of the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994 also gave rise to public health considerations due to the relationship between food, trade, and health. Over the years, 240 million containers of goods, including plant products, are transported between countries yearly, raising biosecurity concerns. Moreover, the consignments using wooden packaging pose an additional threat of becoming a medium for pest transmission. The globalization of the food supply has exposed the population to newer risks, such as the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among foodborne pathogens. This risk alone is estimated to cause a nearly US$ 100 trillion loss while risking 10 million lives by 2050. Therefore, developing timely and efficient strategies to manage plant pathogens, pests, and other microbes responsible for foodborne illness is vital, especially for vulnerable populations who could be disproportionately affected.
Food is a critical factor for good health but also a source of ill health, making the role of food double-edged. This negative and positive health factor has been enabled by trade, leading to debates about the need to consider health as a dominant factor in trade policies. The food trade, including plants, raises the question of ensuring that ‘safe’ food is supplied. International measures such as the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), integrated pest management, and electronic phytosanitary certification (ePhyto) are enacted to ensure plant health through the prevention and control of the spread of plant pests while also streamlining the trade process by making it quicker and more secure. These measures can take several forms and stages, such as necessitating that the product originates from a disease-free zone, setting the levels to which pesticides and other residues are permissible, inspecting products, and prescribing which additives can be used. However, these sanitary and phytosanitary measures are considered trade restrictions, as their application becomes contentious when governments use them to shield domestic producers from competition. Thus, the measures that are not necessary for health reasons are viewed as a tool for protectionism, which, due to the technological complexity and deceptive nature, could be a difficult challenge to overcome. Furthermore, there are concerns about the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures being used as non-tariff barriers due to the multiple trade agreements calling for reducing monetary tariffs. These measures can also be applied to agricultural products, which could lead to significant economic costs for the exporters as they are coerced to make changes to comply with new requirements.
While multiple measures are in place to ensure plant and animal health, there is a need to enhance pest and disease management strategies to mitigate the threat of the emergence of new variants. Traditional methods, such as surveillance strategies, are often expensive and may need to be more time-sensitive, leading to adverse impacts on public health and the food industry. Thus, there is a need for a coordinated approach to recognize and take prompt actions to address the issue by critically analyzing the impact on human, plant, and animal health, along with the effects on land use. There is also a need to promote research to realize plant health’s direct and indirect impacts on humans. Promoting these at the regional level could enable the inclusion of multiple geographies and understand the potential causes that endanger human and plant health. It also helps develop a holistic regulatory framework with effective surveillance and monitoring systems to promote plant health based on specific needs while ensuring economic feasibility. With the trade of plants continuing, there is a need to enhance international cooperation, as pests and diseases know no borders. Existing conventions, such as the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), have played a crucial role in bringing together the international community to work towards conservation and ensure plant health. However, there is a need to integrate new and emerging technologies to improve monitoring. The role of international and multilateral platforms has become vital in enhancing access to IoT-based Smart Plant Monitoring Systems, which could help track essential plant health and safety parameters.
Platforms like the G20 have raised concerns about food and fertilizer, which must be materialized to improve surveillance and response mechanisms. Initiatives like the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) launched during India’s G20 presidency can be further used for capacity development among the states, while the IPPC Secretariat provides oversight. Such a mechanism makes it easier to develop guidelines and training materials by organizing workshops at the national and sub-regional levels. Additionally, there is a need to employ diplomatic ties and pressure to push for reforms in international bodies like the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to represent better the interest of developing states, particularly agrarian economies, to ensure there is no bias during the safety evaluation. The role of science diplomacy is also significant in adjudicating disputes related to safety by involving various stakeholders. Threats to plant health are a global challenge to public health and economic development, making international cooperation imperative to address the concerns. The pandemic, climate change, and continued conflicts in various regions highlighted the importance of protecting the agrifood systems and called for effective political measures to overcome the threats. Therefore, strengthened global partnerships and an integrated approach could help protect plants from emerging and endemic pests, which benefits food security and safety, poverty alleviation, equality promotion, environmental protection, and economic development.
[Image by Duyệt Trần Văn from Pixabay]
Kiran Bhatt is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Diplomacy, Department of Global Health Governance, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Manipal Karnataka, India.
Prof. Dr. Sanjay Pattanshetty is Head of the Department of Global Health Governance and Coordinator of the Centre for Health Diplomacy at Prasanna School of Public Health Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Manipal Karnataka, India. Additionally, he is affiliated with the Department of International Health Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI) Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences Maastricht University Maastricht, The Netherlands, as an External PhD candidate. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.
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