Plantwise update Sept 2015

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2015

Expo visitors learning about Plantwise. Inset – Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann of Switzerland sits down for a crop consultation with Nthenga Isaiah, a plant doctor from Zambia.

Expo visitors discover Plantwise in Milan International visitors to the Milan World Expo, which opened its doors in May this year, are discovering how Plantwise helps smallholder farmers lose less and feed more.

Smallholder farmers and the major challenges they face due to crop health problems are the focus of an interactive exhibit launched by the CABI-led Plantwise programme at the Swiss Pavilion.

Featuring vibrantly coloured crop-themed games and links to a new Plant Doctor game, available as an app and online, the Plantwise exhibit is based on real life plant clinics helping to advise farmers in 34 countries. Many of the innovative information resources for plant doctors presented

at the ‘game spots’ come from the Plantwise knowledge bank, a global online and offline gateway to plant health knowledge.

On the Swiss Food Security Day in June, expo visitors experienced directly how smallholder farmers receive the practical plant health advice they need to save their crops at a live plant clinic session hosted by Plantwise at the Swiss Pavilion. Visitors at the plant clinic demo were invited to select a sick crop sample from those on hand – tomato, maize, cucumber and others – and sit down briefly with real-life plant doctors who work to support plant clinics and Plantwise activities back in their home countries of Ghana and Zambia.

After meeting with plant doctor Nthenga Isaiah and receiving advice to safely stop tomato pests from threatening farmers’ livelihoods, one Expo visitor from the USA observed that “It’s definitely a good thing to have this kind of support for farmers – I had no idea how difficult it is to keep crops healthy and how complex it could be to get the right advice. Governments should be helping to bring this information to more farmers.”

The Plant Doctor Game can be downloaded here www.padiglionesvizzero.ch/en/plant-doctor

Listening to the Silent Patient In an exciting development, Plantwise has published its first book this year.

LISTENING TO THE SILENT PATIENT UGANDA’S JOURNEY TOWARDS INSTITUTIONALIZING INCLUSIVE PLANT HEALTH SERVICES CABI WORKING PAPER 7

Edited by Remco Mur, Frances Williams, Solveig Danielsen, Geneviève Audet-Bélanger and Joseph Mulema

Entitled ‘Listening to the Silent Patient: Uganda’s Journey towards Institutionalizing Inclusive Plant Health Services’, the publication shares lessons from plant clinic services in Uganda.

Drawing on almost ten years of involvement in implementing plant clinics in Uganda, the book includes case studies that describe, and put into perspective, the experiences of five plant clinics, as well as video interviews with farmers, plant doctors and partners in the country.

“The authors have identified many positive

Plantwise trials its first serious game Plantwise is trialling its first serious simulation game which will act as both a learning tool to complement plant doctor training, while also helping to inform future training requirements.

The rich and realistic gameplay will allow plant doctors to reinforce their learning – a complement to face-to-face training. The game features more than 120 minutes of uninterrupted, unrepeated and novel gameplay.

Serious games simulate activities which take place in the real world to help train or educate professionals for ongoing learning and development. The first Plantwise serious game is a fun and engaging way for plant doctors to examine virtual 3D plants using smartphones or tablets, either online or offline.

Individual plant doctors will be able to gain confidence in their skills through regular feedback and scoring throughout the game, as well as competition with their peers. The data recorded and analysed in the virtual environment of Plant Doctor Simulator will help to improve and refine Plantwise training modules by assessing plant doctor skills and understanding.

They will be able to investigate the symptoms of plant health issues and make decisions on what are causing the problems. Called ‘Plant Doctor Simulator’, the game is currently undergoing user testing.

Over the longer term, serious games have far reaching potential to enhance the Plantwise delivery of knowledge and information.

adaptations taking place in Uganda that can be supported and encouraged to improve the delivery of plant health advice to farmers,” said Plantwise programme executive, Dr Ulrich Kuhlmann. “There are also a number of areas where more work is needed if the plant health system is to be truly strengthened. Many of these lessons can be applied to any country in which Plantwise is operating which makes the book of interest to those working to support extension services worldwide.”

Readers can download the book here: www.plantwise.org/about-plantwise/ publications/listening-to-the-silent-patient

Working towards sustainability CABI and its partners are making good progress on the path to Plantwise sustainability in many participating countries. With strong signs of financial and policy commitments by partners to embed Plantwise concepts into their standard operating procedures, momentum is building towards achieving the sustainability goals.

Sustainability in a Plantwise context means that positive changes will continue beyond the lifetime of the CABI-led programme and independent of technical support from CABI or financial support from Plantwise donors.

Now a sustainability roadmap developed by the programme can help countries to review progress and identify key achievements and areas for further development.

Read our new strategy to find out more: www.plantwise.org/Uploads/Plantwise/ Plantwise%20Strategy%20Document%20 2015%2020%20Lr.pdf

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linkedin.com/company/cabi

twitter.com/cabi_news Plantwise is a global programme led by CABI, working to increase food security and improve rural livelihoods by reducing crop losses.

Agreement signed to implement additional new plant clinics in Peru A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed in Peru between CABI and the Ministry of Agriculture-funded regional agricultural experimental station ‘El Porvenir’ to implement six plant clinics in the San Martin area of the country.

Extension officers from the Ministry of Agriculture in Peru will manage the clinics with backstopping provided by Plantwise. These officers from the experimental station will be trained through Plantwise to become plant doctors who provide technical assistance and advice, on demand, to farmers.

The agreement, also signed by the San Martin Regional Director of Agriculture, should help Plantwise and its partners to improve crop productivity and food security in the region.

The director of ‘El Porvenir’ Antonio Arce Garcia (left) and the San Martin Regional Director of Agriculture Dr Jorge Saavedra Ramirez sign a memorandum of understanding.

The MoU will also help to promote positive changes that can continue beyond the lifetime of the CABI-led programme in the San Martin area.

Thumbs up for Plantwise

Plant doctors in Bangladesh and Nepal have recently created their own Facebook groups so that they can share information on plant pests and help each other with diagnoses and recommendations.

Members include plant doctors, their colleagues and supervisors. Plant doctors post where their clinics are held, pictures from the clinic sessions and crops with problems that can’t be identified.

The Facebook groups also enable CABI staff to contribute to discussions, providing further Plantwise information when needed.

It’s early days for the Facebook groups, but so far the members are posting actively and sharing the content which shows that it is helping their work and is an effective means of communication. This approach may inspire other Plantwise countries to find their own innovative ways of sharing plant health related information.

Plant doctor focus: Said Ahmed Asim Hashimi, Afghanistan Since March 2013, Said Ahmed Asim Hashimi has been trained in various Plantwise courses including ‘How to become a plant doctor’ (modules 1 and 2) and ‘Extension messages’ which includes writing Pest Management Decision Guides and Factsheets for Farmers.

Said Ahmed Asim Hashimi

Following his first courses he has been running a regular plant clinic in the province of Baghlan, north of Kabul. An assistant professor at

the University of Baghlan, Hashimi is also extremely interested in the queries that clinics receive. The plant clinics provide an accurate picture of the types of problems farmers have with their crops and the insights gained help shape his research at the university.

Hashimi was also instrumental in developing a joint partnership between Plantwise and his university which provides diagnostic support for problems that can’t be identified at the clinics.

Funding agreement for more plant clinics signed in Afghanistan Financial support for up to 100 plant clinics in Afghanistan, starting with 25 plant clinics in 2015, will be provided by the National Horticulture & Livestock Project (NHLP) via the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). This funding was secured through a tripartite agreement signed by CABI, NHLP and the Plant Protection & Quarantine Directorate (PPQD).

New tri-partite agreement being signed.

Download the Plantwise Factsheet Library app Don’t forget to download the free Plantwise Factsheet Library app available on the Google Play store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cabi.pfff&hl=en_GB).

This application has been developed to provide plant doctors and other farm advisors across the world with access to hundreds of pest factsheets while working in the field – helping them to diagnose crop problems and deliver advice on-site.

Plantwise is supported by:

Ministry of Agriculture People’s Republic of China

To find out more visit www.plantwise.org or contact: Janny Vos, Strategic Partnerships Director T: +31 (0)33 4321 031 E: j.vos@cabi.org

LOSE LESS, FEED MORE www.plantwise.org