Finding ‘a way forward’ at Sri Lanka’s national Plantwise forum
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC_iGco5z-E&w=560&h=315] Over 60 stakeholders from Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector came together in the hilltops over Kandy in Sri Lanka recently to exchange experiences and discover strategies for implementing the Plantwise model on the ground. Video also available on Vimeo here. Coming from extension, research, private enterprise, academia and policy-making, attendees at this national forum…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (19 Feb 14)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this fortnight include a new psylla pest reported on pear trees in Egypt, the first report of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum‘ on pepper in Honduras and the first report of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causing sclerotinia blight…
Direct2Farm reaches 4 million farmers in India
The Direct2Farm (D2F) project, run by CABI, provides mobile information services to farmers in India. Two D2F initiatives in India that use voice-based systems to communicate with farmers, mKisan and IKSL, have now cumulatively reached over 4 million farmers. The use of mobile technology allows extension messages to reach isolated communities that have few means…
CEO Trevor Nicholls live at The Economist’s Feeding the World 2014
Bringing together key players in food security from the private, public and civil society sector, the Economist’s annual Feeding the World conference yesterday in London also highlighted CABI’s efforts to level the playing field for the smallholder farmer. Invited to speak on the afternoon panel focused on trade and supply chain resources, CABI’s CEO Dr…
Update: Plant Health News (12 Feb 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a new biocontrol treatment to control Rhinoceros beetles on coconut, research to show GM Bt crops don’t harm non-target insects and research into the use of insects to control invasive weeds. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (05 Feb 14)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this fortnight include a report on the abundance and species richness of leafhoppers and planthoppers in Brazilian maize, the first report of root rot caused by Phytophthora nicotianae in avocado in Cuba and the first…
Plantwise 2013 Highlights
As we move into the New Year and all that 2014 has to offer it seems like a good time to review some of the achievements of 2013. Here are a few of the Plantwise highlights of 2013!
Plant health system developing well in Zambia
Since the launch of Plantwise in Zambia last year, much progress has been made to build capacity within the national plant health system. In collaboration with the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), CABI staff have successfully trained crop officers and extension staff from the Department of Agriculture, ZARI, and Self Help Africa on ‘how to…
Update: Plant Health News (29 Jan 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the development of shock treatments for weeds, plans to monitor pesticide residues in Nepal and the development of enset varieties resistant to bacterial wilt disease in Ethiopia. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Plant Health Rallies: Giving Rwandan agronomists the tools to inform the public
In November 2013, three members of the CABI Plantwise team (Dr Noah Phiri and Peter Karanja of the Nairobi office, and Julien Lamontagne-Godwin of the UK office) visited Musanze in the Northern zone of Rwanda. 12 participants from the Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) were trained in techniques to inform the surrounding rural communities on serious…