The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Headline:
Plant pests destroy up to 40% of agriculture and crops, adding to an increasingly hungry world - FAO
Even though plants provide 98% or more of the oxygen people breathe, and nearly 80% of our daily calorie intake, they are under siege.
“Pests currently destroy up to 40% of agriculture and crops, including food crops- 40% each year. This costs the world about $220 billion- that would be $220 billion annually in global trade losses,” said Dr. Osama El-Lissy, Secretary- General of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) today to the media at the United Nations in Geneva ahead of its annual meeting.
The IPPC, an intergovernmental treaty involving 184 countries, is overseen by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to safeguard agriculture and natural resources against plan pest and to facilitate safe trade.
In an increasingly hungry world, with 828 million people experiencing hunger in 2021 based on the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, this is alarming and set back global efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, by 2030.
For example, the most widely traded fruit in the world, worth USD 7.5 billion, is under attack from the devastating banana fusarium (TR4), a fungus that attacks the roots causing bananas to wilt.
“80% of the global banana production is currently under attack from a disease called banana fusarium,” Mr. El-Lissy said. “That is basically a fungus that attacks and kills bananas. And more recently, just two weeks ago, Venezuela actually reached out to us to report the detection of this particular banana fusarium in banana production and declared an emergency”.
Next week, the IPPC’s governing body, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, will convene in Rome for its 17th annual session to adopt standard and to take stock of the progress in the global protection of plants.
“We are concerned about insecticide resistance and that's why we promote environmentally friendly tools that could be just as effective in controlling some of these pests, including biological control in sterile insect technology and other practices that can really minimize the use of insecticides while at the same time providing the necessary safeguarding against some of these invasive pests,” said Dr. Osama El-Lissy.
He also emphasized that “based on scientific review that the IPPC conducted last year, climate change is increasing the risk of pests spreading in agriculture and forestry areas. And we see this in the distribution of desert locusts, the world's most destructive migratory pests”.
- ends-
STORY: FAO: Plant Pests and Impacts on Food Security
TRT: 2 min 23s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 24 March 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, Briefing room, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Dr. Osama El-Lissy, Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO: “Pests currently destroy up to 40% of agriculture and crops, including food crops- 40% each year. This costs the world about $220 billion- that would be $220 billion annually in global trade losses".
- Medium shot, journalists
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Osama El-Lissy, Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO: “ 80% of the global banana production is currently under attack from a disease called banana fusarium. That is basically a fungus that attacks and kills bananas. And more recently, just two weeks ago, Venezuela actually reached out to us to report the detection of this particular banana fusarium in banana production and declared an emergency.”
- Close-up of journalist with monitors in the background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Osama El-Lissy, Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO: “We are concerned about insecticide resistance and that's why we promote environmentally friendly tools that could be just as effective in controlling some of these pests, including biological control in sterile insect technology and other practices that can really minimize the use of insecticides while at the same time providing the necessary safeguarding against some of these invasive pests.”
- Close up, journalists typing
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Dr. Osama El-Lissy, Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO: “Based on scientific review that the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) conducted last year, climate change is increasing the risk of pests spreading in agriculture and forestry areas. And we see this in the distribution of desert locusts, the world's most destructive migratory pests.”
- Medium shot, Screens with camera in the foreground
- Close up, journalist
- Close up, journalists typing
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR
Afghanistan: Humanitarians scramble to reach survivors of deadly quake; response at ‘breaking point’
In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are racing to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, repeated his urgent call for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, amid increased military Israeli activity in the enclave’s largest city.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Amid reports of increased Israeli military operations across Gaza City on Friday, UN aid agencies repeated urgent warnings of ongoing famine and a likely rise in preventable disease, linked to the dire living conditions in the war-shattered enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN calls for Iran to halt executions and move towards ending the death penalty.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following comment on the killing of journalists in Gaza at the bi-weekly press briefing.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called on Egyptian authorities to end the practice known as “rotation”, which allows Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods.