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Tools for pest and disease management by stakeholders: a case study on Plantwise

Published: January, 2021

Book chapter

Washington Otieno, Willis Ochilo, Lorna Migiro, Wade Jenner, Ulli Kuhlmann

Plantwise is a global programme led by CAB International that has been introduced in more than 30 countries since 2011. It is presented in this chapter as a case study illustrating the use of innovative approaches and tools in pest management. Plantwise puts emphasis in accurate pest diagnosis as an essential requisite for effectiveness of recommendations given to farmers in managing pests at farm level, with a strong focus on production practices by smallholder farmers in developing countries. Training of intermediaries between technology developers and smallholder farmers in diagnosing problems that farmers detect in their crops is recognized as the key starting point in pest management. The intermediaries, herein referred to as plant doctors, are specially trained government agro-advisory service providers, empowered through training on how to diagnose problems with plant Tools for pest and disease management by stakeholders Tools for pest and disease management by stakeholders health, operate plant clinics and give good advice to farmers based on integrated pest management (IPM) principles. Plant clinics are an extension tool that is based on a similar approach to human health clinics. Not only do the plant clinics serve as points from which to advise farmers, but they are also frontline facilities for diagnosing and documenting the presence of pests in farmers’ fields.

Tools for pest and disease management by stakeholders: a case study on Plantwise

Type Book chapter

Published in The sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Ltd, Cambridge, UK, 23 pp

Language English

Year 2021

Related projects

Plantwise

Worldwide, over 500 million smallholder farmers provide food for two-thirds of the earth’s growing population. Achieving a zero hunger world by 2030 depends on increasing the productivity of these smallholder farmers – but their crops face a significant threat. Yearly, an estimated 40% of crops grown worldwide are lost to pests. If we could reduce crop losses by just 1%, we could potentially feed millions more people. The lack of access to timely, appropriate and actionable extension advice makes it a fundamental challenge for farmers to get the right information at the right time to reduce crop losses.

Start: 01/01/11