CABI’s expertise showcased at first International Plant Health Conference

September 26, 2022 London: CABI’s expertise in helping millions of smallholder farmers around the world mitigate devastating crop pests and diseases was showcased at the International Plant Health Conference in London.

The conference was organized by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

It has sought to address new and emerging challenges to plant health, including the impacts of climate change, the dramatic increase in international trade, the rapid loss of biological diversity and new pest pathways such as e-commerce, national, regional and global politics, analyzing more efficient structures. and mechanisms.

Dr. Phil Taylor, CABI’s European Support for Plantwise, presented CABI-led innovations in early warning systems for crop pests and diseases.

These included a look at the Pest Risk Information Service (PRISE), which uses a novel combination of ground observation technology, real-time field observations and the life cycle of plant pests to help farmers in sub-Saharan Africa deal with pest outbreaks.

Dr Taylor also highlighted the benefits of Plantwise plant clinics and the CABI Horizon Scanning (HST) and Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) tools.

How all these can help farmers mitigate, diagnose and mitigate various crop pests and diseases such as banana xanthomonas wilt, cassava brown virus, maize lethal necrosis disease and fall armyworm.

Dr. Washington Otieno, Senior Health and Phytosanitary (SPS) Advisor, based at CABI’s African regional centre, reported on the network of plant clinics in Africa and how these can feed into the Plantwise Knowledge Bank, which helps farmers grow healthier and more profitable crops.

Plantwise has established over 5,000 plant clinics, staffed by over 13,000 plant doctors, supported by over 1,200 national trainers and over 3,800 data managers. There are more than 4,500 e-learning users.

In addition, the Plantwise Knowledge Bank explains that it contains 1,723 fact sheets for farmers, 2,028 Pest Management Decision Guides, 6,703 external fact sheets and 4,039 fact sheets on individual pests.

In addition to using other decision-making tools, such as advisory materials, data collection and management applications, as well as diagnostics, to help farmers become better informed about pest risks and how to deal with them.

Dr. Otieno told delegates that overall, Plantwise services have led to more than 20% increase in yields due to improved plant health management and 30% increase in crop-based household incomes.

CABI’s participation in the conference was Dr. Ulrich Kuhlmann, CABI’s Executive Director of Global Operations, who sponsored a scientific conference on Integrated Pest Management.

Meanwhile, CABI’s Dr. Dannie Romney, Senior Global Director of Development Communications and Outreach, joined a technical session on soil health, soil microbiome and plant health.

CABI’s Gender Coordinator Bethel Terefe also participated in ‘Facilitating safe trade: why is a gender perspective important?’ in the interview called There were representatives of the World Bank, the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).

Dr Kuhlmann said: “Plants are the foundation of all life on earth and improving plant health is key to feeding a growing global population and supporting economic development worldwide.

“Effective extension services (using the latest digital support tools) are essential for the world’s smallholder farmers to combat crop pests and diseases that affect their yields and livelihoods.”

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