Successful webinar on International Year of Plant Health hosted by Italian Federation of Doctors in Agronomy and Forestry

Rome, 24 April 2020. Mirko Montuori, Project Officer (International Year of Plant Health) spoke at a webinar organized by FIDAF, the Italian Federation of Doctors in Agronomy and Forestry. The webinar, attended by 101 participants, was organized by Nicola Colonna, Researcher at ENEA, the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, and chaired by the Andrea Sonnino, President of FIDAF. Andrea Vannini, Director of the Laboratory of Plant Protection of DIBAF at University of Tuscia, also provided an insightful presentation on challenges and opportunities for plant health.

The webinar focused on the emerging threats to plant health, the role of the international community, inclusive of FAO, the SPS Agreement and the IPPC community, as well as achievements and plans for the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020.

Mirko Montuori of IPPC Secretariat welcomed this initiative as one of the digital events to promote IYPH 2020 and the role of the IPPC, and one that showed the interest of a vast public for plant health and their role in sustaining the UN 2030 agenda.

According to Prof. Vannini, much needs to be done to sustain plant health, including strengthened pathway risk analysis, pest risk analysis, enhanced funding and investments for national plant protection organizations, and an increasing role for research.

This initiative was held in the context of national events during the International Year of Plant Health, and is part of the “Cultural Fridays” initiative by the Federation.

Participants were encouraged to take an active role in the IYPH programme and engage in digital campaigns with various stakeholders.

More information is available at the following link (in Italian): http://www.fidaf.it/index.php/event/venerdi-culturale-24-04-2020-webinar-proteggere-le-piante-proteggere-la-vita-anno-internazionale-della-salute-delle-piante/