Reviewing the Importance of International Year of Plant Health

The United Nations declared 2020 and 2021 the International Years of Plant Health. This initiative promotes the value of our precious plant resources and the need to safeguard them against destructive invasive pests. The February 7th Sustainable, Secure Food Blog highlights how the United States Department of Agriculture's Plant Protection and Quarantine Program plays a key role in the fight against pests.

According to blogger Osama El-Lissy, “protecting plants helps the U.N. to meet many of its sustainable development goals. These include reducing hunger, poverty, and threats to the environment. Today, our life-sustaining plants face an ever-growing threat: invasive pests.”

USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine Program partners with state departments of agriculture and many other organizations in the U.S. and around the world. The program actively seeks to prevent pests and diseases. Some of these activities include inspecting produce and plants, certifying foreign facilities that produce a large-volume of U.S.-bound commodities, and collaborating with countries to establish science-based plant health standards.