Black Sigatoka Ravages Caribbean
Caribbean banana farmers are abandoning fields where crops have been badly affected by Black Sigatoka disease. Black Sigatoka has badly affected several countries in the region, including Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada and Guyana. Black Sigatoka is considered the most destructive disease of bananas and plantains and is caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis. It first arrived in…
Plantwise news update May 2013
The latest Plantwise newsletter is here. Click ‘Read more’ to find out about the launch of Plantwise in Ghana, discussions on greater collaboration between CABI and agricultural stakeholders in Myanmar, support for Plantwise from the European Union, and developments in the Knowledge Bank.
Plant clinics in Uganda: First regional plant clinic awareness workshop held in Kabarole
This article is adapted from a post on the Rwenzori Information Centres Network blog. In a bid to create awareness about plant clinics in Uganda, Plantwise organized a one day sensitization workshop at Lesuiex Centre in Kabarole District about improving food security and the lives of smallholder farmers in Uganda. It was also aimed at…
Banana bacterial wilt leaves thousands hungry in Tanzania
According to IPP Media, over 8,000 people in 15 villages in Kagera region of Tanzania are in dire need of food relief following an outbreak of banana bacterial disease that has destroyed 90% of the banana crop. Bananas are the staple food for people in the region. Adam Malima, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and…
Plantwise heads west (in Uganda)
The recent awareness raising exercise that took place in Fort Portal in the west of Uganda was a roaring success. The key to extending Plantwise in Uganda was to involve the Chief Administrative officers, District Agricultural officers and the NAADS coordinator of each of the districts. The extension service in Uganda is mostly decentralised with…
Local trainers trained in Uganda
Plantwise is expanding rapidly and it is difficult to keep up with the demand (see Plantwise heads west) in some parts of Africa. Uganda was one of the first countries that took up the concept of Plant clinics and thus it is one of the most advanced in clinic numbers and in the integration of…
Julien Lamontagne-Godwin at a cacao depot in North Kivu, DRC
Whenever I am working in Democratic Republic of Congo, I always link up with our partner ESCO, a regional cacao producer and exporter, also active in Uganda.
Plantwise news update December 2012
The latest Plantwise newsletter is here. Click ‘Read more’ to find out about plant clinics being set up in Rwanda, the experiences of a plant doctor in DRC, and what plant doctor training really entails.
More Plant Doctors for Uganda
Module 1 of the How to be a Plant Doctor has recently taken place at the Makerere University Agricultural research institute. The training over 3 days (12th –14th Nov) was opened by Dr Robert Karyeija, the assistant commissioner for crop protection, and was led by CABI trainers Phil Taylor from CABI UK and Joseph Mulema…