IGTC congratulates Parties to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) following United Nations General Assembly approval of an annual International Plant Health Day.
 
International Plant Health Day will occur on May 12 each year, thanks to the approval of a UN General Assembly resolution in New York on 29 March 2022.
 
The resolution, led by the governments of Bolivia, Finland, Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania and Zambia, highlights that sustaining plant health protects the environment, forests and biodiversity from plant pests, addresses the effects of climate change, supports efforts to end hunger, malnutrition & poverty as well as boosting economic development.
 
All UN Member States, organizations of the UN, other international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders are invited to support the International Day. Activities will be aimed at raising awareness of the importance of plant health and its economic, social and environmental impact on food security and nutrition and ecosystem functions, and sharing best practices.
 
The resolution also recognizes the work of the endorsement by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and its governing body, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM).
 
IGTC prioritizes the IPPC as an important instrument to facilitate safe trade and underpins a global rules-based trading system through standard setting to the benefit of the grains, oilseeds and agribulk sector.

IGTC congratulates IPPC for this milestone and is committed to communicating and promoting the role of the IPPC as one of the “three sisters” along with Codex Alimentarius and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that support the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement via the creation of scientifically justified, globally harmonized international standards, guidelines and recommendations.

Read more from the UN here: FAO welcomes decision to mark International Day of Plant Health annually on May 12