The Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA) will launch various initiatives to strengthen citizens' knowledge about the importance of caring for plant health and preventing the entry and spread of pests and diseases that threaten European agriculture, with special attention to citrus cultivation.
These actions will be developed as part of the European consortium PlantHealth4ALL (Engaging Society on Plant Health for a Sustainable Future), a project that brings together entities from Spain, Greece, and Italy in order to deploy, over two years, a broad program of outreach activities, citizen participation, and scientific communication.
Among the planned actions are informational campaigns, training proposals, and activities aimed at schoolchildren, families, and the general public, with the aim of awakening scientific vocations and raising awareness of the work carried out by specialists in plant health. IVIA will also take on the coordination of the "Plant Health Ambassadors" program, aimed at preparing ambassadors to convey this knowledge to educational centers and society as a whole, as noted by the Generalitat in a statement.
OPEN SCIENCE TO CITIZENS
Over the next two years, IVIA will participate in outreach events such as "Science and Cañas" and the "European Night of Science," where the public will be able to take part in demonstrations, experiments, scientific games, and interactive proposals related to plant health. The project also includes the realization of workshops, visits, activities in schools and institutes, social media campaigns, and presence at scientific exhibitions to promote direct contact between researchers and citizens.
The communication strategy will also incorporate the creation of digital materials such as podcasts and videos featuring prominent researchers in the field of plant health, who will share real experiences about the main challenges of European agriculture, from the emergence of new pests to the design of sustainable solutions to protect crops. These contents will be adapted to different audience profiles and will help bring research closer to society in a comprehensible and accessible way.
PlantHealth4ALL will serve to demonstrate that plant health is one of the essential pillars of the One Health approach, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health. It is based on a simple but key premise: the health of plants directly influences food, biodiversity, the economy, and the well-being of the entire population. However, it continues to be a scientific field little known to most.
The involvement of IVIA in PlantHealth4ALL coincides with a relevant anniversary: in 2026, the 30th anniversary of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) will be celebrated, one of the most recognized European programs to support research and the development of scientific talent.
For three decades, the MSCA have allowed the training of thousands of researchers, boosting international cooperation and strengthening the relationship between science and society.
PLANT HEALTH, A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
With PlantHealth4ALL, IVIA reinforces its commitment to scientific dissemination and knowledge transfer, bringing the research it conducts in plant health closer to citizens and contributing to Europe being better prepared for the challenges posed by emerging pests and diseases in a scenario of climate change and increased international trade.
The project ultimately seeks to consolidate the connection between science and society and to highlight that protecting plant health is also safeguarding our common future.
PlantHealth4ALL is coordinated by the Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI, Greece) and involves the participation of IVIA, the Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA, Italy) and the Centro Internazionale Di Altistudi Agronomici Mediterranei (CIHEAM, Italy).