CABI shares important new evidence on the legacy of Plantwise

A plant doctor holds broccoli crop with farmer pointing at it.
CABI has published a working paper assessing the legacy of Plantwise programmes in six countries: Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Jamaica. The paper, entitled Plantwise Sustainability: Two Years on, finds that the sustainability of a Plantwise programme hinges heavily on the country in question. This means that while it is difficult to engineer or…
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“Plant clinics help me continue to support my family through farming.” Meet Joyce, a farmer from Malawi

Mayi Joyce Vito is a middle-aged woman with a one-acre farm in Nanjiri, Lilongwe, Malawi. She grows groundnuts, maize and occasionally, cassava. She also has a piece of dambo land where she grows vegetables and has a number of banana trees. Nanjiri is one of the areas in Lilongwe which is regarded as a ‘food…
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Farmers in Malawi to benefit from space-age technology in fight against devastating crop pests

Farmers in Malawi are the latest to benefit from a CABI-led consortium, funded by the UK Space Agency, which is providing a Pest Risk Information Service (PRISE) to fight pest outbreaks that could devastate crops and livelihoods across the country. The service, which uses state-of-the-art technology to help inform farmers in sub-Saharan Africa – including Zambia, Ghana and…
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Farmers in Malawi fund first purpose-built permanent plant clinic to fight pests and diseases

Brick-built Malawi clinic
A group of farmers in Ntcheu district, Central Malawi, have clubbed together to fund the first purpose-built permanent plant clinic to help fight a range of crop-devastating pests and diseases that threaten their livelihoods and food security. Pengapenga Plant Clinic, which previously operated under a tree in the market place, is now providing a more…
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“Our crops have answers”

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Kanyumbu village is a compact rural farming village in Lilongwe district in Malawi. Farmers in this village mostly produce maize, beans, and mangoes from a few trees scattered in their fields. In 2013, they received a new service from the Department of Agriculture; a plant clinic, with a plant doctor. They were informed that they…
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Investing in smallholder farmers for a food-secure future

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Smallholder farmers provide the vast majority of the world’s food supply, and ‘small-scale farming’ is the largest occupation group of economically active people, 43% of which are women. Approximately 2 billion of the world’s poorest live in households that depend on agriculture in some form for their livelihoods, whether this is for market or subsistence.…
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How does communication and its technical content shape farmer responses to plant clinic advice?

A recent study led by CABI and published in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, explores how communication and its technical content shape farmers’ response to advice delivered at plant clinics. How willing were farmers to accept or reject the technologies recommended at plant clinic consultations? And what were the reasons? The research was carried out…
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Successful partnerships must start at the farm gate

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The annual European Development Days, held in Brussels 7-8 June this year, showcase Europe’s commitment to building a sustainable and fairer world. The forum builds on the core belief that cooperation is key to achieve real change towards a poverty-free and sustainable world where everyone has the prospect for a decent life. At this year’s conference,…
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Smallholder farmers in Malawi are growing fertilizer trees on their farms to improve food production

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The adoption of fertilizer trees on farms is a simple and effective way to improve soil fertility, food productivity and therefore contribute to food security. Yet, there is still little empirical research that documents the impact of fertilizer trees on food security among smallholder farmer households. Researchers from the World Agroforestry Centre carried out a…
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Farmer Field Day training in Malawi

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On Tuesday, June 3rd, Land O’Lakes held another in a series of Farmer Field Day training events at one of their signature Answer Plot® sites, known locally as Yankho Plot™ sites in Malawi.  This farmer training event was held in Salima district, Malawi, on a plot planted with several varieties of rice.  On this day,…
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