From left- Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago, Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture member Daniel Tuitoek and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Managing Director Esther Kimani during the 2nd Phytosanitary Conference at KEPHIS Headquarters in Nairobi on June 4, 2018. The event themed Phytosanitary Systems for Safe Trade and food security that brought together over 100 plant health experts from 17 countries to discuss all matters plant pests, diseases and their effects on Kenya’s and global trade. With the recent pest challenges of the Fall Armyworm(affecting maize and roses), the False Coddling Moth(affecting roses) and the Leaf Miner(affecting tomatoes), among other pests, governments , farmers, agricultural traders, seed companies, the private sector and other stakeholders now appreciate that plant pests pose a greater threat to food security more than ever before. This is especially attributed to changes in global trend that enable the pests to move faster and further than before, and to climate change which creates favaouble conditions for pest multiplication where they didn’t exist before.