Plant health exhibits hosted by Ireland and Italy at the International Year of Plant Health launch event

Rome, 2 December 2019 – Two thematic exhibits from Ireland and Italy were hosted at FAO headquarters for the official launch event of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) on Monday, 2 December. Entirely dedicated to plant health, the exhibitions aimed at raising public awareness of the phytosanitary risks associated with international travel and trade.

The exhibition was officially inaugurated with a ribbon cutting by the FAO Director-General, Mr Qu Dongyu and all the keynote speakers of the IYPH launch event’s opening session, including Mr Edward Centeno Gadea, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Nicaragua; Mr Andrew Doyle, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland; Ms Jaana Husu-Kallio, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland; and Ms Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Irish exhibit was organized by Irish national plant protection organization (NPPO) in cooperation with the Irish delegation to FAO and inaugurated at the presence of Mr Andrew Doyle, Minister of Ireland at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Mr Bobby McDonagh, Ambassador of Ireland to Italy; and Mr Barry Delany, IPPC contact point for Ireland. As part of the EPPO “Don’t Risk it!” information campaign, the Irish exhibit aimed at raising public awareness of the phytosanitary risks associated with international travel. “When travelling abroad, plant pests and diseases do not take passport,” said the Minister of Ireland during his remarks at the IYPH launch event, encouraging people and travellers to take responsible and more cautious approach when bringing plants and plant products aboard.

On the other hand, the Italian exhibit was organized by Conlegno, a private non-profit consortium that aims at protecting forest heritage and biodiversity, in collaboration with the Italian NPPO. The IPPC contact point for Italy, Mr Bruno Faraglia, explained to the FAO Director-General how Conlegno companies work in accordance with the IPPC guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade. The exhibit showed how the Italian government is working on the implementation of IPPC standards, and how International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15 is harmonized in Italy to mitigate the phytosanitary risks related to wood packaging material. In conclusion, the IPPC Secretary Jingyuan Xia conveyed his high appreciation to the governments of Ireland and Italy for contributing to the IYPH launch event and expressed the idea to continue such collaboration in view of the 15th session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures.

More photos are available at:

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