1. The international year
of plant health:
an overview

Plants make up 80 percent of the food we eat and produce 98 percent of the oxygen we breathe.

The annual value of trade in agricultural products has grown almost three-fold over the past decade, largely in emerging economies and developing countries, reaching USD 1.7 trillion.

Plant pests are responsible for losses of up to 40 percent of food crops globally, and for trade losses in agricultural products worth over USD 220 billion each year.

Climate change threatens to reduce not only the quantity of crops, lowering yields, but also their nutritional value. Rising temperatures also mean that more plant pests are appearing earlier and in places where they were never seen before.

Beneficial insects are vital for plant health – for pollination, pest control, soil health and nutrient recycling – and yet, insect abundance has fallen 80 percent in the last 25–30 years.

One million locusts can eat about one tonne of food a day, and the largest swarms can consume over 100 000 tonnes each day, or enough to feed tens of thousands of people for one year.