Burundi has been busy stepping up its efforts to train more PlantwisePlus plant doctors to meet the country’s need to strengthen its food security and help more farmers grow more and lose less to crop pests and diseases.
PlantwisePlus is a global programme that aims at providing farmers with better access to the advice and information needed to manage plant health problems and to improve their livelihoods. PlantwisePlus runs in over 40 countries, including Burundi. Burundi is also a valued member country of CABI.
A key pillar of PlantwisePlus is the capacity building of agricultural advisors in pest diagnosis and pest management and for improving services to farmers. These trainings are also part of the certification of agricultural advisors as plant doctors.
Plant protection curricula of agricultural educational institutions
These hands-on practical trainings can be either implemented through in- service adult education programmes, or as parts of plant protection curricula of agricultural educational institutions.
Since September 2025, PlantwisePlus plant doctor trainings have been becoming an integral part of the plant protection education curriculum in all of Burundi’s agricultural vocational schools. The curricula was officially endorsed and launched on 12 September 2025.
The PlantwisePlus trainings are now part of the 2nd and 3rd year plant protection curricula reaching around 1,000 students in the country per year. Those students may later work as trained farmers, in different agri-businesses or as plant doctors.
A base for successful crop production and protection of the country
Dr Samson Musonerimana, Director of the Burundi Institute of Agricultural Sciences (ISABU) and CABI Liaison Officer for Burundi, said this vocational training is essential to lay a base for successful crop production and protection of the country.
The country has a network of 40 agriculture-related vocational secondary education schools called ITAB (Instituts Techniques Agricoles du Burundi ITAB). They are the backbone in training the youth for better crop production. This is essential for the country that heavily relies on agriculture.
In Burundi, at the start-off of plant doctor training, CABI’s international master trainers from the PlantwisePlus programme first trained national PlantwisePlus trainers from Burundi, who were then backstopped when implementing plant doctor trainings.
To date around 400 plant doctors have been trained by Burundian PlantwisePlus trainers. About 200 plant clinics have been established at commune and zone levels in all the provinces of the country.
Then PlantwisePlus master trainers engaged and trained the agricultural and technical curricula development team of the central bureau responsible education (BECEPFTFP Bureau d’Etudes et des Curricula de l’Enseignement Post-Fondamental et Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle).
Experts saw high value in the Plantwise Plus trainings
Dr Stefan Toepfer, Integrated Crop Management Advisor at CABI said, “Those experts saw high value in the PlantwisePlus trainings particularly about up-to-date pest diagnosis and pest management contents, as well as regarding the practical training approach. Then, the bureau, together with PlatnwisePlus experts, adapted and validated the training curricula of the 2nd and 3rd year students.”
After several rounds of validations and adaptations, then new curricula were endorsed and officially launched by the Minister of Education and Scientific Research .
Since first week of September, the 2nd year agronomy students received the plant protection courses that include PlantwisePlus training content. This will go on into the 3rd year of education in 2026.
Dr Toepfer added, “We gratefully acknowledge funding support from the people of the Netherlands, and through their Embassy in Burundi. This programme also represents a success story of triangular collaboration among CABI Member Countries (Burundi – Netherlands-CABI).”
Additional information
About PlantwisePlus
Find out more about PlantwisePlus: https://www.cabi.org/plantwiseplus/
Other relevant stories
Burundi steps up training efforts to meet country’s need for more Plantwise plant doctors
Plantwise in Burundi Annual Report 2023
From Crisis to Growth: 11 Lessons Learned Leading Agricultural Development in Burundi
Plantwise programme made considerable progress to help strengthen plant health systems in Burundi
Plantwise Burundi: building extension skills and resources
China workshop raises awareness of Plantwise plant doctor programme
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