Plant Health Within A One Health Context Highlighted At Commission Of Phytosanitary Measures CPM 19
25 March 2025, Italy: CABI has highlighted the importance of plant health within a One Health context at the 19th Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy.
The CPM is the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). CABI through its projects and technical activities supports the IPPC’s mission to protecting global plant resources from the introduction and spread of plant pests, in order to preserve food security, biodiversity and facilitate trade.
The FAO states that In Africa, the estimated crop damage by pests ranges from 30-60 percent or USD $65.5 billion annually. By building resilience of their phytosanitary systems, countries can prevent the entry or spread of pests in their territories.
The importance of plant health within One Health
At this year’s CPM-19, CABI delivered a presentation and a call for national and regional case studies on One Health during a side event entitled “Science Session: The Importance of Plant Health within One Health.”
Dr MaryLucy Oronje, CABI’s Senior Scientist, SPS, spoke about how One Health approaches to crop and livestock care in Kenya and Uganda – piloted as part of the CABI-led Plantwise programme 20211-2020 – benefitted hundreds of farmers, promoting Plant health and Animal health.
The plant clinics usually focused only on plant health. But in Uganda, smallholders were asking questions about sick plants and animals. Through the collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Makerere University, and funding from Biovision Foundation and CABI Development Fund, CABI continue to support joint plant clinics helped farmers to address a broader range of health-related issues.
Dr Oronje said the joint crop-livestock plant clinics are supporting small scale farmers and are a first step towards responding to the call for animal, human and plant health stakeholders and contributing to general surveillance of plant and animal pests and diseases.
CABI’s One Health products available on the CABI Digital Library
CABI scientists also spoke about CABI’s One Health products available on the CABI Digital Library. These include the CABI One Health Journal, with real life examples of One Health in practice in One Health Cases, and the One Health Knowledge Bank.
Dr Oronje, who submitted the call for the importance of Plant health in One Health at the Science Session, said, “Broadening the scope of plant clinics into Joint Health Clinics demands for agricultural advice can lead to improved quality and timeliness of crop, soil, livestock and veterinary advisory services.
“This approach could also be of benefit regarding issues such as pesticide risk reduction and mycotoxin contamination that are not always evident from problems that are brought to the clinics.”
Inspire collaborative, multi-sector agricultural advisory systems
She further added that outcomes from the plant clinic approach can inspire collaborative, multi-sector agricultural advisory systems that integrate plant and animal health, soil health and environment.
Also Read: Haryana Government Introduces Strict Penalties for Sale of Substandard Seeds
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