Plantwise Newsletter July 2014

Cambria Finegold, CABI

UPDATE JULY 2014

Plant doctors practice uploading information direct to the Plantwise knowledge bank.

Kenyan partners make Plantwise mobile technology a central part of their e-extension campaign Members of the Plantwise knowledge bank team sat down with plant doctors and extension officials from the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture last month to discuss the early results of a ten-week mobile pilot in the country.

Now within minutes, plant doctors who are participating in the pilot can upload records of each plant clinic visit into their secured Plantwise online management system using using their hand-held tablet. This speeds up the delivery and practical use of this vital information for research, extension and national vigilance against pests.

The feedback from Kenyan partners at the meeting and otherwise is instrumental in fine-tuning the design and implementation of this new technology in the real-world plant clinic setting. Discussing how the mobile pilot fits into their broader e-extension approach incorporating ICT, the Head of Extension Mr James Wanjohi says

“this training and technology will help us in gathering intelligence on plant

health issues which we can communicate to the right agencies so we are able to plan and defeat pests. Some farmers, somewhere will see more food on the table.�

Plantwise in Nepal, expanding coverage to reach more farmers

Plant doctors in Mozambique show journalists, partners, and farmers their advisory skills at the ‘Plante Inteligentemente’ launch May 27 marked an important day for extension services in Mozambique. The official launch ceremonies for Plantwise or ‘Plante Inteligentemente’ ran over the course of 4-days in and around the capital of Maputo, drawing key stakeholders to pilot plant clinics to see first-hand the potential of the programme.

This was an opportunity for partners preparing to launch Plantwise to demonstrate diagnostic and advisory techniques to newspaper, radio and television journalists from around the country, as well as to officials of the National Directorate for Agrarian Service of the Ministry of Agriculture.

CABI

With the attention created by the launch, they hope to garner continued support for the pilot clinics and the impacts they may have on farmer livelihoods and food security.

Pilot plant clinics at the launch welcome their first farmers

Dinesh Babu Tiwari , CABI

Joining the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) were stakeholders from PPD, the Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), the Institute of Agriculture & Animal Sciences (IAAS), plus other national farmers’ associations and key NGOs. PPD Director Dr Dilli Ram Sharma presented an overview of Plantwise activities in Nepal and highlighted its

The meeting was concluded by the Joint Secretary Mr Vijoy Malik who ensured support from Nepal’s government in this endeavour to help improve food security in the country. Plans were announced to expand Plantwise clinics to all 75 districts of the country by increasing government allocations in the next financial year.

Watch the new video from Kathmandu about farmer Basan Thakuri and her plant clinic experience.

Top representatives from agricultural development and extension in Nepal join CABI representatives at the Plantwise national forum in Kathmandu.

Suriname plant clinics getting ready to open

Shamela Rambadan, CABI

At a national forum with representatives from CABI’s India and Pakistan centres, officials spoke out about the progress, and potential, of expanding Plantwise in Nepal. Already 18 plant clinics have been established to provide better advice to farmers to manage pest problems. Pests are one of the factors in slow economic growth in the country’s agricultural sector.

acceptance by the government. Plant clinics serve as the channel for communication and good relations with farmers. Through its Integrated Pest Management program, PPD also uses plant clinics to support its pesticide registration and management system, increasing awareness, training and advisory skills on safe pesticide use and promoting other non-chemical solutions.

Plant doctor trainees collaborate on a group planning activity

Discussions first began with Plantwise and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname (LVV) in May last year. Now, 22 plant doctors have been trained and readied to run their own plant clinics. The 22 selected plant doctor trainees represent seven districts in the country. Putting their support of Plantwise in writing, Permanent Secretary Mr Gerrit Breinburg signed a Partnership Statement and Partnership Agreement in January 2014.

Participants were even awarded their plant doctor training certificates by the Acting Deputy Minister of Agriculture at a ceremony in Wanica Extension Office.

Following the training, two clinics will be launched initially in the districts of Wanica and Commerwijne, operating twice per month.

There are plans to open a total of 5 clinics in Suriname before the end of 2014 using a specially translated Dutch version of the plant clinic prescription form. This will provide written advice to farmers and plant clinic data for decision makers in the plant health system. In

the meantime, efforts are underway to gather resources, promote the clinic schedule, and print the record sheets locally in the country.

Phil Taylor, CABI

The Ministry of Agriculture and Development of Nepal, through its Plant Protection Directorate (PPD) is partnering with Plantwise in hopes to empower farmers and strengthen the overall plant health system in the country.

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

Farmer Focus: Kato John Ssemawere, Uganda

Julia Dennis, CABI

Saurav Paul, CABI

Saurav Paul, CABI

“Since the first time I came here and now, there has been a remarkable difference in the way I do things and in the production I get from my farm. I have all the confidence that in the future things are going to become even better than the way they are now.”

Plant doctors giving a diagnosis of paddy pest problems

Paddy farmers in Tamil Nadu

One plant doctor’s fight against rice blast in Tamil Nadu, India Vargur is a small village in the Tamil Nadu state of India where paddy is grown on a large scale. The plant clinics in this region are very popular with farmers.

For plant doctor Sarangpani it was a usual day, anticipating the regular crowd of paddy farmers in his plant clinic. He enjoyed this interaction with them, especially after improving his pest diagnostic and advisory skills through training provided by Plantwise and national NGO M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). His rich experience as a farmer in the past had now translated into a service for his community through these regular plant clinics.

‘Samba,’ or long grain rice season was usually quiet, but this time local farmer Balchander and many farmers like him had a different story.

The farmers had been seeing white spots on the young leaves of their paddy plant, which began to turn to grey-green in couple of days, bringing them increasing worry. It was time for plant doctors like Sarangpani to take immediate action to try and help Balchander and his neighbouring paddy farmers.

Read the rest of this plant clinic story to see how Plantwise and partners are changing outcomes for farmers in Tamil Nadu, India.

GUESS THE PEST? A farmer in Vietnam brings her maize crop to a plant clinic at the market. The tassel, or inflorescence part of the plant, has been affected with large galls developing across the crop.

Answer to last newsletter’s ‘guess the plant pest’: bacterial blight (Pseudomonas cichorii).

Eduardo Hidalgo, CABI

Plantwise training kicks off in Costa Rica

In March 2014, the Plantwise programme was initiated in Costa Rica. Twenty-two extension workers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the National Plant Health Department (SFE) were trained in Module 1 (Field Diagnosis and Plant Clinic Operation) of “How to Become a Plant Doctor”.

After the training, a meeting was held with representatives from various departments of the national plant health system to discuss the Plantwise initiative and the pathway to implementation.

planned for the coming months, and it is expected that the first 10 new plant clinics will be opened in two regions, Grecia and Cartago, before the end of the year.

Trainings for Module 2 “Giving good advice” and developing extension materials are

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

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