International Year of Plant Health (IYPH)

The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH): "The year is a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development".

INRAE conducts considerable research on the health of plants, which are the basis of our food and a pillar of global health. Modelling to mitigate risks associated with epidemics: landscape management, sustainable management of plant resistance, biocontrol, etc.; innovative systems to rapidly detect and identify pests and diseases are some of the different research pathways explored by INRAE for cultivated plants. Vast interdisciplinary programmes involve researchers in innovative research.

Alternatives to chemical pesticides: on 23 February at the Paris International Agricultural Show, 24 research organisations from 16 European countries signed a joint declaration of intent “Towards a Chemical Pesticide-free Agriculture”, driven by INRAE and its German counterparts ZALF and JKI. The declaration aims to rethink how research is carried out and develop new common research and experimentation strategies, not just at a national level, but throughout the whole continent.

The currrent COVID-19 epidemic has led to many events being postponed. During this period, we would like to offer you a tribute to plant health composed by an INRAE scientist.

Since 10 February, a song to celebrate plants and their good health has been circulating on social media, with almost 3000 views in less than 2 months. This song was composed by Cindy Morris, research director at the Plant Pathology Unit of INRAE Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur, in honour of the International Year of Plant Health 2020.

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