A One Health approach to plant health (GD News)

Global Diaspora News published an article stating that the evolution of global food systems and improved crop varieties have enabled hundreds of millions of people to achieve food and nutrition security. Keeping people fed is challenging to plant health: How to improve agriculture to anticipate and adapt to future challenges? As strong food systems depend on healthy plants, so small farmers in the world poorest countries will need to be equipped with relevant information and support to ensure that appropriate food production sustains into the future. Senior research fellow Vivian Hoffman, shared how her research attempts to understand the best ways to incentivize farming and market practices that minimize plant-associated hazards.   According to Hoffman’s research regarding aflatoxins in groundnuts in Ghana, she said, “While we found that information, subsidies and price levels could all influence better farming practices, subsidies had the greatest effect. But we could not rely on subsidies as the only approach. We need to learn how to get farmers on-board and make these interventions worth their time and investment.”