Empowering women farmers with digital tools in India

A woman farmer in India
In India, 59 per cent of women work in agriculture. This workforce is vital to the country’s rural economy, with women performing many of the big farming jobs, such as planting, weeding, tending, and harvesting crops. 
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Digital advisory tools: reaching last-mile users in India

Minister of Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh, opening CABI's stand at Ag Tech 2023
PlantwisePlus presented its suite of digital advisory tools to end users at the recent AgTech 2023 conference in Andhra Pradesh, India. The PlantwisePlus digital tools are helping improve knowledge and uptake of integrated pest management (IPM) practices. As such, they align with Andhra Pradesh’s Natural Farming Initiative, which promotes the use of agricultural approaches that are in harmony with nature.  
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Boosting the usage of CABI’s digital tools through communication, collaboration, and co-creation

Food security and food safety are two complementing elements of a sustainable future. Unexpected crop losses due to pests and diseases lead to food insecurity, and indiscriminate pesticide usage to control the pest/ disease hamper food safety. In such situations, countries need novel solutions that maintain food safety while addressing food security issues. 
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PlantwisePlus India: challenges and opportunities

PlantwisePlus India stakeholder meeting
Agriculture forms the backbone of India’s economy, employing nearly 44% of the workforce. However, farmers in the country face many challenges, not only pests and diseases, which destroy up to 40% of crops. Outbreaks, such as the locust swarms of 2020 and, more recently taro caterpillar in Madhya Pradesh, can affect food security, national security and human health.
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Pesticides in tea: How can we manage tea pests more naturally, avoiding harmful chemicals?

On International Tea Day, we look at how we can reduce pesticides in tea. Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world, after water. It’s estimated that people drink around three billion cups every day. But tea plantations are under threat from pests, and farmers must find effective ways to stop them.…
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Taro caterpillar outbreak in central India

The Taro caterpillar (Spodoptera litura), is a pest of many crops across Asia and Oceania. This species is generally well-controlled by natural enemies. Therefore, outbreaks in India’s Madhya Pradesh over the past two years are particularly notable.
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Better Cotton Initiative: biocontrol training in India

Cotton ready to harvest
India is the world’s largest producer of cotton. It is one of the country’s major cash crops with nearly 6 million farmers making a living from growing cotton. The Better Cotton Initiative helps make cotton farming a more climate-resilient, environmentally friendly and responsible business. Working with smallholders, farm workers and communities, the Better Cotton Initiative…
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How Plantwise plant clinics supported a women-led cottage industry in India

Women preparing biopesticides at a cottage industry.
In 2003, twelve women in Chokkalingam Puddur village started a local biocontrol agent production unit. The Ellya Thendral women self-help group produced and marketed five different types of fungal biopesticides. Their cottage industry received a boost when a Plantwise plant clinic was established in their village. CABI’s Plantwise programme partnered with M S Swaminathan Research…
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Plant doctors help in fight against crop threats in Jammu, India

Plant doctor orientation day, Jammu
The role Plantwise plant doctors play in helping smallholder farmers mitigate crop losses due to pests and diseases has been lauded by K.K. Sharma – the Director of Agricultural Production & Welfare Department in Jammu, India.
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Webinar discusses sustainable management of fall armyworm

Webinar to discuss fall armyworm
A webinar was hosted by the Department of Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare, Jammu and CABI to promote the sustainable management of Fall armyworm (spodoptera frugiperda). The informative webinar explored how this invasive pest can be monitored and managed in the maize growing regions of Jammu, Northern India.
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