Plantwise Knowledge Bank 'Highly Commended'

In recognition of its truly innovative approach to information provision, the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, created by CABI, has been ‘Highly Commended’ at the annual ALPSP (Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers) Award for Publishing Innovation.

Applications for the Award are judged on their originality and innovative qualities, together with their utility, benefit to their community and long-term prospects.

The Plantwise Knowledge Bank (www.plantwise.org/knowledgebank) was recognised for its approach to geospatially indexing published content and field observations. This connects farmers in developing countries to reliable and appropriate plant health information wherever they may be. The panel noted that “the resource is intuitive and disarmingly simple with clear practical benefits.”

The Knowledge Bank is part of the wider Plantwise programme, an initiative led by CABI, to help smallholder farmers lose less of what they grow to pests and diseases. The Knowledge Bank plays a key role in this, providing an online open-access resource which contains information on key crops and the pests and diseases which attack them.

It also provides national homepages, and interactive distribution maps. This ensures that wherever the resource is used the information given is appropriate and useful to those accessing it.

Shaun Hobbs, Global Director of the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, was delighted with the commendation. “The whole Knowledge Bank team have got a real buzz from the recognition given to our work and, indeed, to the whole Plantwise programme.  We see it as a fantastic resource that we have tried to design with the end user always in mind.  It is a great way for CABI to use our expertise in Publishing to support our International Development work and  highlights how, even after a hundred years of existence, CABI continues to innovate in new and exciting ways.”