CABI Academy helps Better Cotton team grow its plant-health knowledge

Amarti carries raw cotton bags after picking at the Farm Naimatullah Laghari, Sinjhoro, Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan.
Members of the CABI Better Cotton Initiative team gave their crop pest diagnosis and management skills a boost recently thanks to the CABI Academy. Over 100 team members completed the Crop Pest Diagnosis and Crop Pest Management courses with all participants gaining a pass certificate.
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Women farmers in Pakistan aren’t realising their potential – here’s why

Women farmers in Pakistan sort maize crop
Women farmers in Pakistan are finding it difficult to access agricultural support. The needs of male farmers dominate most advisory services and socio-cultural set up due to restricted mobility of women farmers. This is a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. And it contributes to a gender gap in agricultural productivity. Women-managed farms are…
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Plant clinics in Pakistan: a complete package for advisory services for the country’s smallholder farmers

Pakistan plant clinic
The crops of smallholder farmers in Pakistan face numerous risks and health problems. Often, a lack of knowledge on the farmers’ part on how to diagnose crop pests and diseases results in losses of between 30-40% of their key crops. This not only affects productivity and, therefore, food security but also livelihoods.
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Bio-protection roadshow promotes low-risk plant protection products in Pakistan

BioProtection roadshow, Pakistan
Agriculture continues to face new and complex challenges. Not only do these affect agricultural production, but also basic and applied agricultural research and education. One key area of concern is the increasing threat from plant pests and diseases, made worse by climate change and environmental degradation. Farmers often turn to chemical pesticides to protect their…
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Plantwise National Data Centre established in Pakistan

Plant doctor
The plant health information collected through Plantwise plant clinics is a valuable resource. The Department of Plant Protection has set up a new National Data Centre in Karachi to collate clinic data. Plant health partners, stakeholders and other knowledge delivery systems will be able to use this information to make evidence-based decisions that strengthen plant…
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Pest Risk Analysis workshop: spotting Pakistan’s potential invaders

Mealy bug on a branch
Invasive species can cause enormous damage, affecting biodiversity, the environment, and people in invaded areas. They disproportionately affect communities in poor rural areas; people who depend on natural resources and healthy ecosystems to make a living. It is widely accepted that prevention is better than cure, however, how do you work out which species pose…
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Plantwise Pakistan: National Forum boosts stakeholder cooperation

Plantwise Pakistan National Forum
Key Plantwise stakeholders and partners came together for the National Forum meeting in Pakistan this August. The forum was an opportunity for members to evaluate Plantwise’s success and boost membership cooperation.
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Empowering organic cotton growers through plant clinics in Balochistan

Pakistan is among the top five largest cotton producing countries in the world. Although Punjab and Sindh have remained major cotton producing provinces since 1947, a sharp increase in global demand for organic cotton is offering a great opportunity to Pakistan in general, and Balochistan in particular is set to get maximum benefit due to…
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Plantwise programme launching in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan

Focussing on the main objective and vision of the Department of Agriculture (DOA) Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K), regular discussions between CABI’s Country Coordinator for Plantwise in Pakistan, and the DOA led to a formal agreement which officially endorsed plant clinics in three divisions of AJ&K.
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Asian Farmers Consult Vibrant E-Plant Clinic Network In Pandemic Times

This article was originally published on aesa – Agricultural Extension in South Asia E-Plant clinics are meeting places where local agricultural advisory officers, known as plant doctors, help farmers struggling with plant pests and diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, plant clinics continued to provide advisory services to farmers by going online. Malvika Chaudhary shares her…
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