BLOG: To end global hunger, more robust efforts are needed to protect plants

Posted on Mon, 04 Aug 2025, 14:38

By Sarah Brunel, IPPC Secretariat Officer-in-charge and Team Lead, Implementation and Facilitation Unit

What if we can build a world where no one goes hungry?

It may be utopian. But we hold no excuse not to keep moving the needle. …

Draft standards on banana and fresh taro approved for stakeholder consultation

Posted on Mon, 28 Jul 2025, 11:55

Rome, 28 July 2025. Two draft standards in the trade of banana (Musa spp.) and fresh taro (Colocasia esculenta) have been approved for public consultation within countries that are signatories of the International Plant Protection Convention …

How climate change impacts plant health - and why it matters for One Health

Posted on Tue, 22 Jul 2025, 13:56

Across the world, climate change is shifting the delicate balance that keeps plants – and everything they support - healthy. As temperatures rise, rains become less predictable, and extreme weather strikes more often, plant pests and diseases are spreading in …

Landmark IPPC project put African countries on the path for better trade

Posted on Fri, 18 Jul 2025, 07:14

Rome, 17 July 2025. African countries are poised to capitalize from a landmark trade and quarantine project, which provided countries with critical skills and capacity to guard against agricultural plant pests and take advantage of the continent’s vast natural …

SPOTLIGHT: Setting the standard: the global efforts behind plant health protection

Posted on Tue, 08 Jul 2025, 11:43

Plant pests are responsible for the loss of up to 40 percent of global food crops every year. International standards help countries protect plant health and secure food supplies for a growing world population. ©FAO/Miguel Schincariol

How international standards keep …

SPOTLIGHT: How the IPPC Plant Health Campus is shaping the future of global learning — with Sarah Brunel and Cristina Petracchi

Posted on Thu, 26 Jun 2025, 08:31

As a spotlight feature for this month we speak to Sarah Brunel, IPPC Officer in charge for day-to-day matters and Implementation and Facilitation Unit Lead, IPPC Secretariat and Cristina Petracchi, Head of the FAO elearning Academy

What is the IPPC …

Global webinar showcases new IPPC Plant Health Campus to strengthen phytosanitary capacity

Posted on Tue, 24 Jun 2025, 08:13

A learning platform built for everyone, everywhere

What if every plant protection officer, researcher, or student could access free, high-quality training at their fingertips — anytime, anywhere, even with limited internet? This was the vision brought to life in the …

PRESS RELEASE. FAO and IPPC launch second phase of the Africa Phytosanitary Programme

Posted on Tue, 24 Jun 2025, 07:27

Africa countries harness technology to combat plant pests and diseases and boost food security

23 June 2025, Mbombela – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and partners launched the second …

SPOTLIGHT: Ethiopia’s phytosanitary capacity assessment to build stronger systems and accelerate legal reform

Posted on Tue, 17 Jun 2025, 07:40

While Ethiopia has been providing phytosanitary services for over three decades to protect and conserve the country’s agriculture and biodiversity, no comprehensive national phytosanitary capacity evaluation (PCE) had been undertaken until 2024. A PCE is essential for evaluating a country’s …

The IPPC Campus is now available in French: a major step forward for plant health training

Posted on Wed, 11 Jun 2025, 13:21

Rome, 11 June 2025 – The IPPC Plant Health Campus has reached an important milestone: its French-language version is now online providing francophone professionals, researchers, students, and plant health authorities with direct access to certified, interactive, and free capacity development …

IPPC paves the way for "next generation" plant health standards

Posted on Tue, 10 Jun 2025, 06:49

Rome, 30 May 2025. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) recently convened an internal NSP seminar on "The Next Generation of IPPC Standards: An overview of the IPPC and its commodity standards," bringing together over 60 participants to explore …

IPPC Committee fast-tracks plant health standards implementation

Posted on Mon, 09 Jun 2025, 13:18

Rome, 9 June 2025 - The Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) met from 19-23 May in Rome, Italy to discuss strategic capacity development actions, review outcomes of the 19th Session of the …

SPOTLIGHT: Zimbabwe to combat plant pests with quarantine upgrades

Posted on Tue, 03 Jun 2025, 13:17

Zimbabwe is upgrading its quarantine systems, constructing new border posts and inspection procedures, as new plant pests recently detected in Africa pose significant risks to the country’s agricultural sector.

In particular, the 2024 discovery of Goss’s Wilt in neighboring South …

The Standards Committee working group moves forward with two key phytosanitary standards

Posted on Thu, 29 May 2025, 09:26

Rome, 21 May 2025. The Standards Committee working group (SC-7) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) concluded its four-day meeting this week at FAO HQ, advancing two important draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) to the next …