FAO Media Advsor[cid:b0ca6ce6-2595-4b5b-8d62-a904050319cf] Virtual Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Plant Health Thursday, 1 July 2021, 13:00 (CST) Plants are the source of the air we breathe and most of the food we eat, yet we often don’t think about keeping them healthy – it is estimated that up to 40 percent of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases annually. This leaves millions of people without enough food to eat and seriously damages agriculture - the primary source of income for rural poor communities. The United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH)<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/home/en/> and the Year - extended due to COVID-19 for an extra six months - featured a range of activities around the world aimed at raising awareness on the importance of healthy plants for food security and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Year will draw to a close with a virtual Closing Ceremony<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/events/events-detail/en/c/1258706/> on Thursday, 1 July 2021, from 13:00 to 15:00 hours (CEST). To follow the event register here<https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MiQ7zM3sSDOXOtT2dFeaZw>. It will also be webcast here<http://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/> and interpretation services will be available for all FAO official languages. Organized by the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention<https://www.ippc.int/en/> the ceremony will showcase highlights of the Year – including progress on an International Day of Plant Health, a scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests and a IYPH Youth Declaration. QU Dongyu, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will deliver the opening remarks at the ceremony. Speakers include: * Jari Leppä, Minister for Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Finland * Pippa Hackett, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the Republic of Ireland * Songowayo Zyambo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture of Zambia * Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety * Monty Don, IYPH Advocate for Europe (UK) * Rodrigo Pacheco, IYPH Advocate for Latin America and Caribbean (Ecuador) * Diarmuid Gavin, IYPH Advocate for Europe (Ireland) A panel discussion moderated by Jingyuan Xia, Director, FAO Plant Production and Protection Division will then take place with presentations by: * Ralf Lopian, Chairperson, IYPH International Steering Committee * Kyu-ock Yim, Vice-Chairperson, IYPH International Steering Committee * Michael Keller, Secretary-General, International Seed Federation * Ibrahim Al-Jboory, President of the Arab Society for Plant Protection * Victoria Valenzi, Youth representative, presenting IYPH Youth Declaration Closing remarks by Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General. FAO plant health experts and others are available for interviews. Please note other IYPH closing events: IYPH webinar on ‘Food Systems and Plant Health’<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/events/events-detail/en/c/1373526/> on 29 June from 1 to 4 pm (Rome time). Link for registration here<https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_89NXC79BRdOR2s-8A2QsnA>. IYPH webinar on ‘Climate Change, Plant Health and Biodiversity’<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/events/events-detail/en/c/1395452/> on 30 June from 1 to 4 pm (Rome time). Link for registration here<https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WCSjFyXkRWCPUO1YrFmoYw>. RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIA International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/home/en/> FAO’s work on plant health<http://www.fao.org/agriculture/plant-production-and-protection/en/> Scientific review on the impact ofclimate change on plant pests<http://www.fao.org/3/cb4769en/online/cb4769en.html> Friends of the International Year of Plant Health<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/friends/en/> IYPH Advocates<http://www.fao.org/plant-health-2020/our-advocates/en/> IPPC - International Plant Protection Convention<https://www.ippc.int/en/> FOLLOW ON TWITTER #PlantHealth #IYPH @FAO, @FAOnews, @ippcnews MEDIA CONTACTS [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> (+39) 06 570 53625 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> 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 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. FAO | Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy | (+39) 06 570 53625 | www.fao.org<http://www.fao.org>