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03/12/25

Why plant health matters for One Health systems

At Gibb's Farm, Karatu, Tanzania.
Coffee on a farm in Tanzania. Copyright: Miria Grunick / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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Season 4, Episode 61

Plant health is quietly shaping what we eat, the diseases we face and how our ecosystems function. But if you look at most One Health discussions, plants barely feature.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we unpack why that gap exists, why it matters, and what happens when plant health and One Health finally come together.

Reporter Justice Baidoo speaks with Solveig Danielsen, a plant health systems expert at the agricultural research organisation CABI (the parent organisation of SciDev.Net) and lead author of a study that offers a path forward on this issue.

She explains that One Health has traditionally focused on zoonotic diseases, limiting opportunities to tackle wider challenges. Ignoring plant health, she says, weakens the entire health system.

The study highlights how global One Health frameworks continue to centre around human and animal health, even though plants are essential to nutrition, livelihoods and environmental balance.

Some countries are already demonstrating what integrated approaches can achieve.

In Ghana, projects linking plant health and One Health have delivered tangible benefits, says Michael Osae, a research and development scientist at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission who was involved in such initiatives. He says farmers reported better yields, fewer harmful chemicals on their farms and reduced health risks for people, animals and the environment.

However, for many communities, the connections remain unclear. Kikope Oluwarore, executive director of the One Health and Development Initiative, says this lack of awareness is still one of the biggest barriers.

She believes One Health messaging needs to be integrated into health, agriculture and environmental programmes to help people understand how these systems intersect in daily life.

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Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net and distributed in association with your local radio station.

This episode was supported by Cabi’s One Health Hub.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.