Permanent Crop Clinic Programme in Sri Lanka to be strengthened following stakeholder meeting
The CABI-led Permanent Crop Clinic Programme (PCCP) in Sri Lanka is to be strengthened further and provide greater help to the country’s smallholder farmers looking to sustainably protect their crops from devastating crop pests and diseases.
Permanent Plant Clinic Programme gets to grips with yellowing of rice paddies in Sri Lanka
The CABI-led Permanent Plant Clinic Programme (PCCP) is working in partnership with the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka to tackle the issue of yellowing of rice paddies which is threatening livelihoods and food security in the Mahaweli region.
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…
Sri Lanka launches Skype service to further strengthen advisory support in plant clinics
Plant clinics in Sri Lanka, known as the Permanent Crop Clinic Programme, continue to grow and modernize throughout the country. After successfully rolling out e-plant clinics in several provinces in Sri Lanka, the younger generation of agricultural extension workers is now feeling just as confident in solving crop health issues as their senior colleagues did…
Reaching more farmers with innovative early morning plant clinics
It is generally accepted that early morning is the best time to learn and retain new information. As the saying goes: “the early bird gets the worm.” This long-held belief is being applied in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, where plant clinics are now conducted at the crack of dawn. The plant clinics are a platform for…
Expanding our e-plant clinic network in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan e-plant clinic pilot, which launched in 2015 at 10 clinics in Central Province, was extremely successful in minimizing the time as well as workload of plant doctors performing data management tasks. As a result of these and various other benefits established over the last 2 years, the e-plant clinic network has been scaled up…
On International Tea Day, raise a cup to the growers
International Tea Day is observed annually on 15 December, and aims to raise awareness of the impact of the global tea trade on the farmers and agricultural labourers who produce tea. It has been celebrated since 2005 in tea producing countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda, India and Tanzania…
Water weed removed with surgical precision
Blog written by PT Bandara, CABI Associate, and WMDH Kulatunga, Sri Lanka. “A looming threat imposed by Salvinia molesta was averted through the introduction of a biocontrol agent by technical experts of the Department of Agriculture.” These were the words of Project Director Engineer RB Tennakoon, of the Moragahakanda Kaluganga Development Project, Sri Lanka; a project with…
Using the crop clinic concept to minimize the indiscriminate use of pesticides
A recent article in the Sri Lanka Plant Protection Industry Journal highlights how the crop clinic concept in Sri Lanka has promoted effective, judicious use of pesticides. PT Bandara and WMDH Kulatunga describe how the Permanent Crop Clinic Programme (PCCP), established in 2009, provides effective advice that both prevents the destruction of natural enemies due…
Sri Lankan plant doctors launch e-plant clinics
24 June marked the launch of the first e-plant clinics pilot in Sri Lanka. Experienced plant doctors from ten plant clinics in Nuwara Eliya district came together to learn how tablet computers could enhance the current Permanent Crop Clinic Programme (PCCP) led by the Plant Protection Service, Department of Agriculture. Plant doctors learnt: how electronic data collection…