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Leveraging Information and Communication Technologies for Strengthening Plant Health Extension Services in South Asia

Published: May, 2018

Journal article

The plant health management (PHM) is an integrated system that entirely relies on communicating accurate and timely information by key actors in the plant health system. Information and communication technologies (ICT’s) are playing a significant role in connecting all the stakeholders in PHM systems. Various ICT approaches have been exploited to bring down the relevant information to the farmers. These innovative technologies have been found to transform and expand the reach of the extension services. Plantwise is a CABI led global programme that supports national extension systems through its network of plant clinics in developing countries to provide smallholder farmers with better access to plant health information and improve their livelihoods by minimizing crop losses. The plant clinics are supported by a global knowledge bank, a central repository for plant health diagnosis and management information. Plant clinics are run by trained ‘plant doctors’, normally extension officers with a knowledge of agronomy/crop protection, who are trained in different CABI modules in which they are taught field diagnosis and IPM approaches to give pragmatic advice. In this programme, various ICT approaches and solutions have been introduced in an attempt to improve and strengthen its on-going plant clinic activities. The use of ICTs involves the use of mobile technology (tablets) for collecting data and accessing and sharing plant health information via apps. These ICT approaches have been helpful in delivering accurate and timely information to farmers, collecting and making available real time data for informing better decision making as well as building better knowledge networks among extension workers and researchers

Leveraging Information and Communication Technologies for Strengthening Plant Health Extension Services in South Asia

Type Journal article

Published in Extncon2018: Transforming agricultural extension systems: Towards achieving the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Global Impact, 10-12 May 2018, Kandy, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Agricultural Extension Association, Sri Lanka, pp. 201-208.

Language English

Year 2018