Plant Health Matters: How Travel And Trade Impact Our Plant Life
In the height of the summer, the pleasures of life include a lunch of tomatoes freshly-picked by local farmers, chilled lemonade squeezed from the organic fruits of the San Blas valley or an hour in the shade under an old olive tree, kicking back to enjoy ‘the simpler things in life’. Or perhaps you are proud of a giant cactus you’ve grown from a tiny off-shoot, or who loves to see the bougainvillea in bloom?
But could these timeless joys be under threat? Many of us are curious travellers, visiting and exploring interesting and exotic places around the world, but worryingly, alongside climate change, in today’s world international trade and travel are putting many plant species under pressure.
There are strong links between plant health and our everyday lives. With #PlantHealth4Life, an established multinational campaign to support plant health, biodiversity, and the economy, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), an agency of the European Union, along with The Plant Protection Directorate (Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights) are keen to minimise any risks to both Maltese plants and local food chains across the continent, from farm to fork.
Plants makeup 80% of the food we eat and clean the air we breathe, a truth that underpins #PlantHealth4Life. By keeping plants healthy, we are protecting life, our biosphere and our children’s future – and healthy plants have higher yields so that our gardens flourish, our food is cheaper and our pockets are happier too.
And what can you do to support #PlantHealth4Life?
It is important that you do not bring plants or plant products into the EU when you return from your travels.
The spread of plant pests and diseases from country to country can impact our food security and have devastating environmental and economic consequences: some palm trees here in Malta, for example, have perished since the arrival here of the red palm weevil. To mitigate the risk of introducing harmful organisms into Malta and our European neighbours, any plants brought into the EU, for whatever reason, must have an obligatory phytosanitary certificate, so however interesting or beautiful the species you spotted abroad, please bring back only a photo!
In this way, together we can protect various trees and crops from harmful pests, such as olive trees from Xylella fastidiosa, which has not yet entered the Maltese Islands and citrus trees from the Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), for which the Maltese Islands are still a protected zone.
Then, next time you’re relaxing at a family picnic in the local countryside with peaches and honey beneath the pomegranate trees, you’ll still have plenty to appreciate.
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