Economic impact
Plant health is not only vital for our environment and food security, it also plays a significant role in shaping our economy.
The health of plants directly affects various sectors and industries, leading to both positive and negative economic impacts.
How plant health can impact the economy
Maintaining healthy plants is crucial for agricultural productivity and food production. In fact, plants have a twofold impact on our food supply – directly, when we eat plants ourselves, and indirectly, when we use plants as feed for farm animals. Plant diseases and pests can devastate crops, leading to reduced yields and increased production costs for farmers. This, in turn, can result in higher food prices for consumers and potentially create food shortages, affecting the overall economy.
Plant health is also closely linked to international trade. Invasive pests and diseases can be introduced through the movement of plants and plant products across borders, disrupting trade and causing economic losses. Protecting plant health through strict import regulations and certifications helps safeguard local agriculture and prevent the spread of harmful pests. Examples of these certifications include the Phytosanitary Certificate or plant health certificate, which must accompany most plants or plant products entering the EU (see here for a full list) or the plant passport, which should accompany all plants being traded within the EU.
Poor plant health can have an impact that extends far beyond the immediate economic consequences. Neglecting plant health today can, in the future, result in:
- loss of biodiversity,
- ecosystem degradation,
- environmental imbalances.
Plant health in history
What happens when plant health is neglected? History shows the economic and social impact of poor plant health management. For example, the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-19th century resulted from the widespread occurrence of potato late blight, leading to a devastating loss of crops and huge costs in terms of human lives in the country.
More recent outbreaks of plant diseases include Citrus greening, which affects citrus fruits, and Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterial plant pathogen that, since it emerged in southern Italy in 2013, has been wreaking havoc on olive groves, infecting and killing a staggering 21 million trees in Italy’s Puglia region alone, with cases reported across Southern Europe. This pathogen could potentially cause annual production losses of €5.5 billion if it were to spread across the entire EU.
These diseases have impacted agricultural industries, leading to reduced harvests, job losses, and increased production costs.