Successful PRISE-FRT radio campaign promotes IPM to farmers in Malawi
The PRISE project has carried out a successful radio and SMS campaign targeting maize, tomato and bean smallholder farmers in Malawi. In collaboration with Farm Radio Trust (FRT) the campaign was developed in late 2020 to disseminate the PRISE pest alert forecasts to rural farmers in Mchinji and Balaka districts and promote the uptake of…
Plant clinics: Gender impacts in Zambia
Women are key to the future of agriculture and ending world hunger. Currently, female farmers make up 43% of the global agricultural workforce and play an important role in farming production and improving food security. However, the hurdles women face are real. Women often find it harder than men to access agricultural information, finance and…
Plantwise innovations highlighted in UN Climate Change report
CABI’s work in supporting agricultural decision-making for smallholder farmers using innovative digital tools has been featured in a new report by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations body coordinating climate action around the world.
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…
An inter-country workshop and an experience-sharing session on a virtual platform
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…
Africa’s smallholders to bear the brunt of COVID-19
This article was originally published by SciDev.Net Governments need to support millions of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa as the agriculture sector bears the brunt of COVID-19 lockdowns and trade restrictions, scientists say. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Africa Agriculture Outlook 2016-2025, smallholder farms form about 80 per cent of all farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and directly employ more…
The importance of plant clinics to Nepalese smallholder farmers
Nepal has immense diversity in its agro-climate and its crop production, thanks to the variation in its physical landscape. However, it faces a major constraint on its agricultural production, due to pests. Various studies indicate that about 35–40% of pre- and post-harvest losses in Nepal are caused by pests. Several types of chemicals are used…
“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…
Developing ‘last mile’ extension services with Plantwise in Nepal
In Nepal, the Community Business Facilitator (CBF) plant doctor programme is a successful pilot. Linking with the private sector, it reaches those in remote rural areas – or ‘last mile’ communities – with plant protection services, substantially increasing incomes and reducing losses for smallholder farmers. The CBF plant doctors conduct clinics at their own cost…
New plant doctors in India “monitor the field through a farmer’s eyes”
Launching of Plantwise training in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. With the support of the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, under an RKVY scheme, a 6-day training programme on Plantwise modules was conducted at the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), Jabalpur, in technical collaboration with CABI.