Plantwise
MLC Vanguard | Created by CABI
Plantwise is a gloabl programme, led by CABI, increasing food security by reducing crop losses. This is achieved by establishing networks of plant clinics, where farmers receive agricultural advice from trained plant doctors. Plant clinics are reinforced by the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, a gateway to plant health information, including diagnostic resources and pest management advice.
15,500,000 Lives Impacted
Plantwise has had a positive impact on the lives of smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa and the Americas. It has improved farmers’ plant health knowledge, adoption of good agricultural practices, sustainable use of pesticide, crop productivity and income. Seeking plant health advice from plant clinics has been found to be significantly associated with a 5% reduction in the likelihood of a household falling below the poverty line of USD 1.25 per day. At the same time, crop-based productivity and income were found to increase between 12 and 30%.
Plantwise has improved the capacity of extension staff to provide advice on plant health issues to millions of farmers through plant clinics and complementary extension approaches. Plantwise has contributed to raising the profile of plant health as a priority for advisory services and research in some countries. The introduction of tablets to agricultural advisory officers by Plantwise and the establishment of social network groups are helping to improve the technical capacity of plant doctors and to transform the inter-connectedness of plant health systems. Data from plant clinics have been used to map and monitor pest occurrence so that information on the spread of pests is used to design extension materials and actions accordingly. Plantwise contributed to detecting eight new pests (insects and pathogens) in six countries, including fall armyworm in three countries.
An independent evaluation of Plantwise in Kenya demonstrated that that the impacts on crop productivity and impact are not exclusively realized by clinic users; non-users within the catchment areas of plant clinics also benefit from the improved plant health knowledge of both agricultural advisory officers and farmers generated by Plantwise. Another key measure of Plantwise impact on a macro-economic level is crop loss avoided as a result of interventions of the programme. In Sri Lanka, where banana is the most important fruit crop planted on 50,000 ha, bio-econometric modelling showed that banana skipper, a pest first reported at a plant clinic in the country in 2015, could have affected over 60% of the production area. As a result of the vigilance under Plantwise and the rapid diagnostic support possible through tablet computers, the Sri Lankan Government was able to respond quickly to the detection of the pest and limit the spread and damage it would have caused. Without the plant clinic network, early detection and response would not have been possible and crop losses could have been as high as 19,000 metric tonnes (5% of total production), with a market value of US $20 million.
The Innovation
Worldwide, over 500m smallholder farmers feed two-thirds of the earth’s population. Achieving zero hunger (SDG2) depends on increasing the productivity of these farmers – but they face a significant threat. Yearly, an estimated 40% of crops grown are lost to pests and diseases.
Plantwise is a gloabl programme, led by CABI, increasing food security by reducing crop losses. This is achieved by establishing networks of plant clinics, where farmers receive agricultural advice from trained plant doctors. Plant clinics are reinforced by the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, a gateway to plant health information, including diagnostic resources and pest management advice. The Knowledge Bank also collects data about the farmers, the crops and the pests affecting them. This allows us and our in-country partners to identify new crop problems and respond to them quickly.
Working in partnership with relevant partners (such as ministries of agriculture), Plantwise builds the capacity of agricultural advisory services and strengthens national plant health systems from within, helping to establish frameworks for in-country pest surveillance and early warning systems. This empowers countries to respond quickly to emerging plant health problems. By giving smallholder farmers the knowledge to lose less of what they grow, Plantwise is helping them become more food secure and resistant to financial shocks.
Implemented in
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia
Get in touch
Marin Hirschfeld
About CABI
CABI is an international, inter-governmental, not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.
Our approach involves putting information, skills and tools into people's hands. CABI's 49 Member Countries guide and influence our work which is delivered by scientific staff based in our global network of centres.
