Youth leading Africa’s food future: Meet Mary Mueni, a young Kenyan at the forefront of agribusiness innovation
We meet Mary Mueni in May 2025, in Wote Nziu, Makueni County, Kenya, where she is leading a hands-on training with mango farmers. The topic is climate-smart technologies, and she is in her element. She moves confidently among the group, breaking down complex ideas into simple and relatable terms. Every so often, she pauses to…
“Let’s talk about it”: Championing gender dialogues in Ghana’s advisory services
In Ghana, as in many other countries, women face challenges accessing extension advisory services. To improve the provision for women, in 2021, PlantwisePlus assessed the barriers to women’s participation in and access to extension services. The programme team used an FAO-developed tool called the Gender and Rural Advisory Services Assessment (GRAST).
Digital advisory tools in the hands of women agricultural service providers
Smallholder farmers across the world need access to advisory services to support them in managing pest and disease issues on their crops. As part of its PlantwisePlus programme, CABI is developing and promoting digital advisory tools to increase access to the information that farmers need to adopt safe and effective agricultural practices. One of the…
Plantwise Bangladesh: supporting national crop monitoring
The CGIAR COVID-19 Hub provides a coordinated research response to the global pandemic threatening health systems worldwide, along with posing serious risks to food security and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The Hub focuses on supporting national response and recovery work across CGIAR research themes, harnessing knowledge for emergency response, recovery, and resilience.
PlantwisePlus Toolkit: Applying Digital Development Principles to real life
Claire Curry is the Global Team Leader for Specific Objective 1 of CABI’s PlantwisePlus programme, focusing on knowledge delivery to agricultural service providers through digital tools. Claire is a member of the Digital Development team and a ‘Digital Ninja’ at CABI.
Asian Farmers Consult Vibrant E-Plant Clinic Network In Pandemic Times
This article was originally published on aesa – Agricultural Extension in South Asia E-Plant clinics are meeting places where local agricultural advisory officers, known as plant doctors, help farmers struggling with plant pests and diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, plant clinics continued to provide advisory services to farmers by going online. Malvika Chaudhary shares her…
Spotted coffee grasshopper in Bangladesh
Even during the COVID lockdown, news channels buzzed in Bangladesh on the arrival of swarms of an unknown pest that were partially covering mango and guava crops, and some forest trees in Teknaf Upazila, Cox’s Bazar District.
Cultivating more women leaders in Plantwise Pakistan
It was such a pleasure to talk to Noureen Anum (Anum) over video call from across the border in India and hearing about her experiences and role in Plantwise. She is an agricultural officer in Taxila, a small Tehsil near Rawalpandi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Taxila has long been known for its…
Voices of farmers facing the Fall armyworm
Masindi and Kiryandongo are the maize-growing regions of Uganda, and maize – or corn – is a staple crop, cooked into a porridge for breakfast or into ugali for dinner. The Fall armyworm is threatening maize crops in Uganda – and by extension the food security of Ugandans. It’s expected to damage up to 1.39 million tonnes…
Citrus Greening in Grenada
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNlZQMRDNBU&w=560&h=315] Citrus Greening, also known as Huanglongbing, was first confirmed in Grenada in 2016. The disease is caused by bacteria which are spread by the Citrus psyllid. The disease causes yellow blotchy mottling on leaves, small lopsided fruit and branch dieback, making the tree uneconomical. Due to Citrus greening’s potential to devastate Citrus yields,…