FAO Media Advisory - www.fao.org
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Launch of the International Year of Plant Health and other events at FAO Council
2 December 2019, Sheikh Zayed Centre, FAO Rome

Plants make up 80 percent of the food we eat. Yet, they are under constant threat from pests and diseases. Up to 40 percent of global food crops are destroyed by pests every year, resulting in annual agricultural trade losses of over $220 billion, and millions of people left hungry.
Policies and actions to promote plant health are fundamental for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will launch the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) for 2020 to raise awareness about the importance of plant health in addressing hunger, poverty and environmental threats, and boosting economic development.
FAO and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) will lead activities for the implementation of the Year - declared by the United Nations at the end of 2018 - and to promote plant health in 2020 and beyond.
The International Year of Plant Health will be launched by Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General (at 6 pm, Sheikh Zayed Centre) during the 163rd session of the FAO Council.
The following guests will also speak at the opening session:

·         António Guterres, UN Secretary-General (by video message)

·         Edward Centeno Gadea, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Nicaragua

·         Andrew Doyle, Minister of State at the Department of

Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland

·         Jaana Husu-Kallio, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland

·         Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary of Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
Other events on plant health and sidelines of the FAO Council:
The launch will be followed by a panel discussion on plant health (Sheikh Zayed Centre), and journalists are also invited to visit an exhibition (Atrium) marking the event.
As part of its efforts to engage the public and increase knowledge about plant health, FAO will launch a photo contest<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020>, asking amateur and professional photographers to share photos of healthy and unhealthy plants.
The following side events<http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/council/cl163/side-events/en/> will also take place on the sidelines of the FAO Council (Sheikh Zayed Centre):

·         New Challenges through Innovation (3 December)

·         New Business Model of Cooperation: Hand-in-Hand and other Initiatives (4 December)

·         Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control (4 December)

·         World Soil Day Celebration (5 December)

·         Innovation through Personalized Nutrition (6 December)
All events are open to the media.

RESOURCES
Info on IYPH, including on agenda and photo contest<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020>
FAO Council<http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/council/cl163/documents/en/>
FAO Council Side Events<http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/council/cl163/side-events/en/>
IPPC website<https://www.ippc.int/>

FOLLOW ON TWITTER
@FAOnews @FAO @ippcnews
#PlantHealth #IYPH2020

WEBCAST
The IYPH launch and some of the Council's side events will be webcast live and available here<http://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/>.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Accreditation must be done no later than Friday, 29 November at 12 pm (Rome time). Please send:
·         a copy of a valid press card (or) letter of assignment on company stationery
·         a copy of a valid ID (passport, identity card)
·         Email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Include "Press Accreditation" in the subject line.
·         Please have all ID materials with you to gain access to FAO premises.

CONTACT
For accreditation and more information:
(+39) 06 570 53625
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>




Journalists & editors:
For photos, audio clips, video material & b-roll, contact: (+39) 06 570 53625 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

Online tools:
Photos via the FAOnews Flickr account<http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews>
FAO's online newsroom<http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-home/en/>
RSS feed<http://www.fao.org/news/rss-feed/en/> of FAO news releases
@FAOnews on Twitter<https://twitter.com/faonews/>

This media advisory was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To unsubscribe from this news service click the link below or send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with "signoff Media-G-Eng-L" as the only text in the message body. You can also manage your subscription online, here<https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa>.

FAO | Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy | (+39) 06 570 53625 | www.fao.org<http://www.fao.org>


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