A global surveillance system for crop diseases: Global preparedness minimizes the risk to food supplies

M. Carvajal-Yepes* (Corresponding Author), K. Cardwell, A.D. Nelson, Karen A. Garrett, B. Giovani, D.G.O. Saunders, S. Kamoun, J.P. Legg, V. Verdier, J. Lessel, R.A. Neher, R. Day, P. Pardey, M.L. Gullino, A.R. Records, B. Bextine, J.E. Leach, S. Staiger, J. Tohme (Corresponding Author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

147 Citations (Scopus)
315 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

To satisfy growing demand for food, global agricultural production must in-crease by 70% by 2050. However, pests and crop diseases put global food supplies at risk. Worldwide, yield losses caused by pests and diseases are estimated to aver-age 21.5% in wheat, 30.0% in rice, 22.6% in maize, 17.2% in potato, and 21.4% in soybean [1]; these crops account for half of the global human calorie intake [2]. Climate change and global trade drive the distribution, host range, and impact of plant diseases [3], many of which can spread or re-emerge after having been under control [4] (see photo). Though many national and regional plant protec-tion organizations (NPPOs and RPPOs) work to monitor and contain crop disease outbreaks, many countries, particularly low-income countries (LIC) do not effi-ciently exchange information, delaying coordinated responses to prevent disease establishment and spread. To improve re-sponses to unexpected crop disease spread, we propose a Global Surveillance System (GSS) that will extend and adapt established biosecurity practices and networking facilities into LIC, enabling countries and regions to quickly respond to emerging disease outbreaks to stabilize food supplies, enhancing global food pro-tection.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1237-1239
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume364
Issue number6447
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jun 2019

Keywords

  • ITC-ISI-JOURNAL-ARTICLE

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A global surveillance system for crop diseases: Global preparedness minimizes the risk to food supplies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this