14 December 2020, UK: The CABI-led Plantwise programme, which has helped millions of smallholder farmers realise a 12-30% increase in crop-based activity and income, has won the IPM Team/Group category at the 2021 International IPM Achievement Awards.
Judges were impressed with the impact of the Plantwise programme – launched in 2011 – which has supported over 44 million farmers around the world with the knowledge they need to lose less of what they grow to pests and diseases, thereby increasing food security and improving rural livelihoods.
Plantwise operates in over 30 countries across Africa, Asia, South/Central America and the Caribbean. Through its network of plant clinics, plant health rallies, mass extension campaigns and farmer-to-farmer sharing of information, Plantwise has helped bring about a 5% reduction in the likelihood of a household falling below the poverty line of USD$1.25 a day.
The 10th International IPM Achievement Awards, which also include a Lifetime Achievement and IPM Practitioner, Non-Academic categories, are held to recognize people who have made outstanding achievements in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) adoption, implementation and sustainability.
Scientists discuss various plant diseases with local farmers as they attend ‘plant clinics’ in Mangalam village outside of Pondicherry, India. Photo: Sanjit Das/Panos
Dr Washington Otieno, Plantwise Programme Executive, said, “We are delighted to have won this award which is not just a testament to the hard work of the team – including over 175 local implementing partners – but also to the successful engagement of farmers themselves with the programme it serves to help.
“While there are other projects that just push information out to farmers, and still others that just collect data, Plantwise’s key innovation is this cyclical flow of information – with the net result that everyone – from researchers and governments, and most importantly the smallholder farmers – benefits from improved scientific information and knowledge for life.”
The IPM Symposium Steering Committee decided to postpone the 2021 symposium due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more about the achievements of the Plantwise programme from the Plantwise Impact Report 2011-2018 as well as the Evaluation of Plantwise and Action on Invasives report 2020which was recently commissioned by CABI on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
