PlantwisePlus Blog

The International Plant Protection Symposium 2024, held in Nepal, focused on leveraging digital tools for sustainable agriculture. It brought together experts, researchers, and practitioners to address emerging plant protection challenges and explore innovative solutions. The event provided an excellent platform for CABI to enhance the visibility and promotion of the PlantwisePlus digital tools, which aid agricultural service providers in effectively sharing their IPM expertise with farmers.

The International Plant Symposium was held on 26-27 April 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Symposium attendees

The Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Centre and the Plant Protection Society Nepal jointly organized the event. Participants included approximately 185 individuals from government, academia, research, NGOs, INGOs, students, associations, and private organizations.

Dr Bharat Prasad Upadhay, ex-DG, DoA, gave the keynote speech. In it, he highlighted the challenges and opportunities in pest management for a sustainable and safe food system and the role of CABI plant clinics in supporting IPM-based pest management practices for sustainable agriculture in Nepal. 

International Plant Protection Symposium aims

The International Plant Protection Symposium aimed to address the pressing challenges in plant protection and to promote the adoption of digital tools in agricultural practices. The goal was to enhance plant health management, improve farm productivity, and ensure a sustainable and safe food system.

Key outcomes

• – Session on Digital Tools: Co-organized by CABI, this session focused on integrating digital tools into plant health management systems. Dr. Malvika Chaudhary emphasized the importance of mobile apps, sensor-based monitoring, and data analytics in farmer advisory services.
• – Presentations: The symposium featured various presentations on digital interventions, including remote sensing for crop monitoring, mobile applications for pest management, and AI-driven tools like the PlantVillage application.
• – CABI Digital Tools: Madhu Manjari presented CABI’s suite of digital decision support tools, such as CABI Academy, CABI BioProtection Portal, PlantwisePlus Knowledge Bank, and several mobile apps. These tools assist in diagnosing plant health issues and providing practical solutions.

Next steps for CABI

The symposium highlighted the urgent need to accelerate the adoption of digital tools in agriculture. Future steps include:

• – Promoting the widespread adoption of digital technologies to enhance agricultural sustainability.
• – Continuing the development and dissemination of digital tools to support farmers in making informed decisions.
• – Fostering collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders to maximize the potential of digital innovations in agriculture.

The event underscored the potential of digital tools to revolutionize agricultural practices, improve resilience to threats, and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable agricultural future.

PlantwisePlus

PlantwisePlus gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), Netherlands; European Commission Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA, EU); the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom; and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).