Training Kenya’s young farmers and women to help ensure greater food security

Youth-skilling-3
The theme for this year’s United Nations World Youth Skills Day was ‘Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future.’
Read Further

Why plant health matters

Farmer in Jamaica holding green bell peppers
Why is plant health so important? Plants account for 80% of what we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe. They are essential for food security and a healthy world. Better plant health could help end hunger, alleviate poverty, protect biodiversity, and boost economic development. Yet, our planet’s plant health is under threat.
Read Further

Integrated rodent management: rice production

Rodents are a particularly challenging pest in the rice production industry as they are a problem all the way from sowing to harvest. The rice field rat (Rattus argentiventer) causes average losses of 10-20% in rice growing areas. Ranking as the most important non-weed pest in Indonesia for 15 years up until 2000. Integrated Pest…
Read Further

Integrated pest management (IPM): managing crops with natural solutions

A korean man and woman crouch on the ground inspecting some young plants
This article was originally published on the CABI BioProtection Portal blog. Visit the original blog post here. Integrated pest management (IPM) is an environmentally friendly approach to managing crops. “IPM is the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques”, the FAO describes on its website.  Integrated pest management includes implementing various biological, chemical, physical and crop specific (cultural) techniques. This…
Read Further

Plant doctors: fighting crop pests through integrated pest management

Okra crop pests
The increase in devastating crop pests, such as the fall armyworm and tomato pinworm, has led to a growth in pesticide use among smallholder farmers. The lack of product knowledge and safety awareness means there is a widespread tendency not to adhere to safety precautions.
Read Further

Benefit from free access to Crop Pest Management Course

CPM-course
Pests and diseases are among greatest challenges to food security. Around 40% of crops worldwide are lost to pests – putting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and global food security at risk. CABI is helping to mitigate these challenges through strengthening expertise of agricultural workforce in plant health and Integrated Pest Management (IPM)…
Read Further

Integrated pest management practices bring more than $12 billion to the developing world

This article was originally published by Virginia Tech Daily The implementation of integrated pest management strategies is improving livelihoods and bringing billions of dollars in economic benefits to developing nations. That’s according to findings of a review published recently by Virginia Tech researchers George Norton, Muni Muniappan, and Jeff Alwang and researcher Menale Kassie from…
Read Further

An inter-country workshop and an experience-sharing session on a virtual platform

Community Business Facilitators (CBF) plant doctor Mr Gannesh Rokaya and Mrs Dipa Poudel of Surkhet giving farmers a technical consultation
Our experiences in Nepal during the global COVID-19 pandemic have been both positive and negative. On the positive side, this difficult time has made us realize the value of coming together and being connected as a community. But the pandemic has also put people’s lives and livelihoods at risk. In Nepal, COVID-19 is now spreading…
Read Further

Integrated Pest Management-promoting extension services linked to plant clinics win governmental Agri-Tech Extension Award in Beijing, China

An innovative Integrated Pest Management-promoting extension services linked to Plantwise plant clinics in Beijing was awarded first prize at the Beijing Municipal Agri-Tech Extension Award in March 2020. This governmental prize has been awarded every three years since 1996.  This year the award recognizes the significant achievement on promoting integrated pest management (IPM)-compatible plant protection…
Read Further

Education on safe pesticide use crucial for farmers in rural Kenya

Young farmer spraying pesticides on crop without proper protective clothing
A team from CABI,  AMPATH  and Corteva recently visited an area in the Rift Valley and discovered alarming evidence that farmers are unaware of the harmful effects of agricultural pesticides. Through indiscriminate use, poor handling, storage and application of pesticides, farmers in the area are harming consumers and themselves.
Read Further