Plantwise National Data Centre established in Pakistan

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The plant health information collected through Plantwise plant clinics is a valuable resource. The Department of Plant Protection has set up a new National Data Centre in Karachi to collate clinic data. Plant health partners, stakeholders and other knowledge delivery systems will be able to use this information to make evidence-based decisions that strengthen plant…
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Being Data-Driven: A New Approach to Decision Making

With many areas of our day-to-day lives becoming digital, from how we communicate to the exposure of previously trapped knowledge across geographic and social boundaries, it is not a surprise that the agricultural sector is also shifting to digital platforms. As such, the adoption of good digital practices at a global scale is important for…
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Sri Lankan plant doctors launch e-plant clinics

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24 June marked the launch of the first e-plant clinics pilot in Sri Lanka. Experienced plant doctors from ten plant clinics in Nuwara Eliya district came together to learn how tablet computers could enhance the current Permanent Crop Clinic Programme (PCCP) led by the Plant Protection Service, Department of Agriculture. Plant doctors learnt: how electronic data collection…
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Mobile data collection – can it work in Tamil Nadu, India?

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Over the past year, the Plantwise Knowledge Bank team has been conducting an e-plant clinic pilot in Kenya. Following the success of this pilot, we are now seeing if we can apply the lessons learnt in Kenya to other Plantwise countries. In December, we travelled to Thanjavur city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India,…
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Plantwise Data Management Training in Mozambique

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Since its launch early this year, the partnership between the Plantwise Initiative and the Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique (MINAG) continues to grow. The National Directorate of Agrarian Services (DNSA) that falls under MINAG is the Plantwise implementing institution in Mozambique. There are currently 5 plant clinics established and running in Maputo and Manica provinces.
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Backstopping visit to Hanoi, Vietnam

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After our stay in Cambodia, Claire and I continued on our way to Hanoi, Vietnam on September 8th and 9th. From there we drove out to Hưng Yên province, visiting two plant clinics and an agro-dealer. We had the opportunity to speak with farmers and plant doctors about how clinics are going, and how useful they…
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Photo of the Month, October 2013 – Idyllic location for training in Malawi

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Plantwise was launched in Malawi in May 2013 after vigorous training of plant doctors in crop pest identification and how to give recommendations based on the identified pest problem. In the 14 plant clinics widespread in Lilongwe and Mzimba, there was need to understand the role that the plant clinic data will play in the…
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Update from Kenyan plant doctors

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MaryLucy from the Plantwise Knowledge Bank team, who is based in Kenya, has been visiting plant doctors in the Rift Valley to train them in data management. She has already had some very enthusiastic responses from plant doctors and agricultural officers who welcome the use of plant clinics in conjunction with the Knowledge Bank to…
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Kenyan plant doctors respond to new data management

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This week MaryLucy, a member of the Knowledge Bank team based in Nairobi, has been travelling across Kenya to meet some of our plant doctors and offer them data management training to help improve the support available to farmers. This training involves highlighting the importance of accurate data collection from farmers who attend Plantwise plant…
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