About

I am a plant pathologist and team leader at CABI’s centre in Egham in the UK, providing diagnostic and technical support for plant health issues. My scientific and development career spans 25 years and over 23 countries. During this time, I have worked on and managed projects in plant health and undertaken consultancies for private companies. My early career involved research on the biological control of tropical weeds with fungi.

For the past 15 years, my attentions have been focused on the diagnosis and management of tropical pests and diseases and the strengthening of plant health services in developing countries. During this period, I managed the diagnostic and advisory service (DAS) based in Egham, UK and have been integral to the development of the Plantwise programme. The DAS offers diagnostic services and management advice, free-of-charge, to developing countries and has been instrumental in the detection and monitoring of many of the recent pest and disease outbreaks in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

The Plantwise programme, led by CABI, started in 2011 is now active in 33 countries around the world. The programme helps to strengthen diagnostic networks and plant health systems by training extension agents and working closely with national agricultural advisory services to establish and support sustainable networks of plant clinics. I have worked closely with extension services in many overseas countries and continue to support the Plantwise programme through expert advice on the diagnosis and management of plant health problems using IPM approaches. Most recently, in my role as Plantwise Data Manager, I have focused on quality assurance aspects within the programme and the validation of the diagnosis and recommendations made by plant doctors around the world.