Youth Changing the Face of Agriculture in Kenya
They are young and sophisticated technophiles operating in the fast lane of life. A typical day for them entails spending considerable amounts of time on the cyberspace. Additionally, they are innovative and have a proclivity for taking greater entrepreneurial risks. Meet the burgeoning youth population that is revolutionizing the agricultural landscape in Kenya.
Factsheet of the month: May – Fruit Fly Control
Today, the European Union (EU) has imposed a ban on imports of Alphonso mango from India after authorities in Brussels found fruit flies infesting mango shipments earlier this year. This ban is likely to affect everyone in the supply chain – from growers to wholesalers to consumers. Fruit flies are a major pest of mango…
Factsheet of the month: April – Wheat stem rust
Last week, the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security took place in Mexico, bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, and leading agricultural research-for-development organizations to discuss the role of wheat in the future of food security. Wheat is an extremely important crop that provides around 20% of the world’s calories but this staple crop is threatened…
Plantwise Factsheets App gets the attention of BBC radio [Video]
Plantwise and White October met up for an interview on BBC Radio Oxford’s Kat Orman show to talk about how the new Plantwise Factsheets Library app will help get good crop information out to local extension workers, helping them to help farmers.
Tackling food insecurity with mobile technologies
It is important for farmers in developing countries to have access to the best agricultural information available to prevent crop losses and boost food security and wider livelihoods. Under the Plantwise programme, CABI helps local governments and extension workers set up plant clinics where farmers can come for unbiased and practical agricultural advice helping them to “lose less and…
Plantwise visits ‘open source GIS’ conference, FOSS4G 2013
On Thursday 19th November, I attended the ‘Free and Open Source Software For GIS’ (FOSS4G) conference in Nottingham, UK with two of my colleagues from the Plantwise Knowledge Bank. The conference, organised by OSGeo, had the strapline “Geo For All” and aimed to show that the tools that this Geographic Information Systems (GIS) community is…
Plantwise knowledge bank well-received in Brazil
Last week, Cambria Finegold, Head of Project Development for the Plantwise knowledge bank, gave a seminar at São Paulo State University (UNESP), one of the largest agricultural universities in Brazil. The seminar, entitled “The Plantwise Knowledge Bank for research on Distribution, Identification, and Control of Agricultural Pests – Use and Potential” generated positive feedback from…
So how can we deal with all this plant clinic data?
There are many ways that data from plant clinics can inform agricultural activities. Clinic data can be used to identify the distribution of major crops and diseases, and help to flag up new and emerging pests and diseases. These data can also contribute to the monitoring of the quality of advice given to farmers at…
How mobile technology could improve agriculture
Technological innovation is becoming increasingly important in agricultural development and productivity. The use of mobile ICT (information and communication technology) in agriculture provides a more efficient and cost-effective method for sharing and exchanging knowledge more widely. Farmers are benefiting as they can access key information such as pest and disease reports, weather conditions and market prices.…
Plantwise 2012 Highlights
As we move into the New Year and all that 2013 has to offer it seems like a good time to review some of the achievements of 2012 . Here are a few of the Plantwise highlights of 2012!