Regional Conference on Role of Soil and Plant Health Towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals 21 – 23 November, 2018 by Dr Ravi Khetarpal

1. Regional Conference on Role of Soil and Plant Health Towards
Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
21 – 23 November, 2018
Plant Health Scenario and
Sustainable Development Goals in Asia Pacific
Ravi Khetarpal
Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions
APAARI, Bangkok, Thailand

2. Presentation
• Plant health importance and SDGs
• Issues in Asia Pacific
• Regional Efforts
• Recent Initiatives by APAARI
• Need for enhanced co-ordinated efforts

3. Plant health vis a vis Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 1- No poverty
Goal 2- Zero hunger
Goal 3- Good health
and well being
Goal 5- Gender Equality
Goal 12- Responsible
consumption and production
Goal 13- Climate action
Goal17- Partnerships

4. Judging the Importance of Plant Health
For every 1% of crop losses saved we can feed
25 million hungry people

5. Plant Health – Regional Scenario
Challenges and Opportunities
• Wide variations in climate with high degree of plant diversity
• Destruction caused by various pest species
• Overuse of pesticides
• Soil health vis a vis plant health often neglected
• International trade leading to introduction of invasive alien plant pests.
• Billions of dollars losses for governments, farmers and consumers

6. Well known Pests in Asia Pacific
• Schistocera gregaria
● the fastest flying transboundary plant pest, the desert locust
• Bactrocera zonata
● the peach fruit fly infesting over 50 species of fruit and
vegetables
• Brown Plant Hoppers (BPH)
● as major pests of rice for which Asia is the global rice bowl
• Wheat yellow rusts
● A perpetual threat for wheat in Asia and Pacific
• UG99
● A virulent strain of stem rust, a recent threat for wheat in
Central and South Asia.

7. Distribution
Some emerging pests in Asia Pacific

8. Limited Distribution of some important pets in Asia Pacific
Limited distribtion of destuctive pests in certaLimited distribtion of
destuctive pests in certain countries of Asi
in countries of Asi

9. IMPORTANT PESTS NOT YET REPORTED FROM ASIA PACIFIC
– South American leaf blight of rubber (Microcyclus ulei)
– South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus)
– Mexican cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis)
– Ergot of maize (Claviceps gigantean)
– Rice yellow mottle virus
– Maize streak virus
Need not be complacent

10. Most Recent Issue on Plant Health
The Fall Armyworm
• A major threat to food security and spreads quickly
• Cannot be eliminated once it has infested a country
• It has also recently been detected
– in Yemen and India
• Estimated value of loss is
– USD 2400 to 4800 million per year.
FAO launches mobile application to support fight against Fall Armyworm in Africa

11. Global Instruments of Plant Health

12. Role of FAO Regional Cooperation and Coordination
– FAO’s Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant
Pests and Diseases (EMPRES)
• Provides support to governments in areas of transboundary movement of pests
– International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
• Has a strong presence in each of the FAO regions and contributes through International Standards
– Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC)
• FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific at Bangkok provides the Secretariat with 25 members
• Setting standards
• Information sharing

13. Plant Health – Regional Scenario
Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC)
• Administers the Regional Plant Protection Agreement for Asia and the Pacific
• Reviews the plant protection situation at the national and regional level
• Coordinates and promotes
– development of regional plant protection systems
– assisting member countries to develop effective plant protection regime
– setting standards for phytosanitary measures
– facilitating information sharing.

14. Strengthened Agri-food research and innovations
for sustainable agricultural development in Asia and the Pacific
• Strategy Plan 2017-22 with four key thematic areas
• Natural resource management
• Risk mitigation
• Inclusive development
• Policy and advocacy

15. Initiative of APAARI
Knowledge management
• Establishment of Knowledge Hub for SPS Capacity Development for Asia Pacific
R & D for enhancing trade and environment protection
• Asia Pesticide Residue Monitoring and Promotion of Biopesticides for Trade
Capacity building
• IPM Training for South Asia in partnership with SAARC
Co-ordination (expected)
• Establishment of a Regional Platform for Plant and Soil Health Management after
Brain storming in a Regional Conference

16. Asia Pesticide Residue Mitigation through
the Promotion of Biopesticides
• To develop a framework in synergy with FAO’s IPM work in Asia
• To combine bio-pesticides with the use of conventional pesticides to
reduce chemical residues
• Expected to
– reduce trade issues linked to pesticides in tropical fruits and vegetables
– reduce exposure of consumers to pesticide residues and of farmers to higher-
risk synthetic pesticides, and have wider environmental benefits
APAARI to work with Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam
CropLife Asia, Rutgers University, USA

17. Six Key Issues in Asia Pacific
• Losses and Economics yet not documented rationally
• Package of practices - IPM- too heavy to be adopted
• Shift to audio visual aids, media, apps with not enough field orientation
• Local pest database and Pest Risk Analysis for export- a major dilemma
• Backward linkages missing
• Impact of outputs beyond publications not documented

18. Plant Health – Way Forward for Asia Pacific
Need to look at plant and soil health in an integrated manner
Needs for a Regional Platform for Knowledge sharing

19. THANKS