Impact of Plant Clinics on Disease and Pest Management, Tomato Productivity and Profitability In Malawi

doi:10.1079/cabicomm-25-8089

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…While we were not able to state conclusively that these changes are entirely a result of using plant clinic services, the findings suggest that the advice received has resulted in some yield increase, which can be particularly due to increased use of fertilizer and IPM approaches such as improved seed varieties and nonchemical pest management options. These findings are in line with other studies that have examined the effect of plant clinic services on farmer yields in other countries (Bett et al, 2018;Ghosh et al, 2019;Silvestri et al, 2019;Tambo et al, 2020). These studies demonstrate that if farmers adopt the recommendations provided at plant clinics they obtain greater yields than farmers growing the same crops who did not visit plant clinics.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…When considering the increase in income that farmers in Ethiopia obtained after visiting plant clinics, this can again be partly attributed to adoption of plant clinic recommendations (Bett et al, 2018;Ghosh et al, 2019;Silvestri et al, 2019;Tambo et al, 2020), through the reduction of cost of pesticides used as well as the higher yield. It is possible that a higher value for the crop is also obtained if the crop is of better quality, though this should be further investigated to determine if this is the case.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Study of Effects of Village Based Plant Clinic Service in Selected Regions of Ethiopia

2021

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This study examined the effects of pest management advice given at village-based plant clinics in selected regions of Ethiopia on three key crops grown and brought to plant clinics in the study areas: maize, potato and tomato. The results showed that while there is reduction in use of pesticides among farmers, which can be taken as a positive outcome, there has been an increasing trend in the use of other inputs such as fertilizer and improved seed varieties. Farmers demonstrated better knowledge and practices regarding pesticide use following the plant clinic visit, especially with regards to use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and disposal of empty pesticide containers. They also spent less on pesticides as they started adopting non-chemical pest management options. Indicative results reveal a significant increase in maize, tomato and potato yields and farmers' income after visiting plant clinics, although this cannot be entirely attributed to plant clinics. The findings suggest that villagebased plant clinics enhance farmers' access to information on sustainable management of plant health problems resulting in increased farmer productivity and income.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Effects of Village Based Plant Clinic Service in Selected Regions of Ethiopia

2021

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“…Other studies have found a similar pattern for plant clinic users who tend to be better connected to formal sources of information and advice, while non-users rely more on informal information networks including fellow farmers and agro-input dealers (Rajendran and Islam, 2017;Bett et al, 2018;Danielsen et al, 2019). We also asked the farmers what they considered to be their first choice of source of knowledge for crop pest and disease management.…”

Section: Farmer Access To Agricultural Knowledgementioning

confidence: 68%

Effects of Plant Health Rallies on Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Uganda

2021

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A survey of 717 farmers (61% male, 39% female) was conducted in six districts in Uganda to assess the effects of Plant Health Rallies (PHRs) on famers' knowledge, attitudes and practices, and to draw lessons about PHR implementation. The survey was complemented with Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. PHR participants seem to have better access to formal information sources than non-participants. Nearly half of the non-participants recognized some differences in practices and outcomes between PHR participants and themselves. Over 90% of the PHR participants applied at least some of the advice given, thereby either completely or partially solving their plant health problems. Reasons for not applying all recommendations included: insufficient capital, distance to reliable input shops, inadequate skills to implement the recommendations, and in some cases, farmers preferred other solutions. PHRs influenced extension positively by: enabling extension workers to reach a larger number of farmers than they normally do; creating a platform for interaction between extension workers, farmers and input suppliers, and exposing extension workers to a wide range of plant health problems, which facilitates better programming. Farmers' constraints to accessing and using knowledge from PHRs included: irregularity of rallies, inappropriate rally venues (markets), distances to venues, insufficient print materials and limited follow-up by extension staff. PHR implementation was challenged by: high operational costs, workload, insufficient technical knowledge of some extension workers, and some farmers' expectation to receive free inputs. PHRs are considered a valuable extension approach to address plant health problems. Mainstreaming of PHRs requires multi-stakeholder collaborations, political commitment and pooling of resources to make the most of the scarce human and financial resources of Uganda's agricultural extension system. More research is needed to explore ways to enhance synergies between service providers and extension approaches to optimize farmer reach and learning outcomes in a cost-effective manner. AcronymsCABI Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International DCP Department of Crop Protection FGD focus group discussions KII key informant interviews MAAIF Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda NGO non-government organisation PHRs plant health rallies

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Farmers’ willingness to pay towards the sustainability of plant clinics: evidence from Bangladesh, Rwanda and Zambia

Ogunmodede

Tambo

Adeleke

et al. 2022

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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Impact of Plant Clinics on Disease and Pest Management, Tomato Productivity and Profitability In Malawi

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

A Study of Effects of Village Based Plant Clinic Service in Selected Regions of Ethiopia

A Study of Effects of Village Based Plant Clinic Service in Selected Regions of Ethiopia

Effects of Plant Health Rallies on Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Uganda

Farmers’ willingness to pay towards the sustainability of plant clinics: evidence from Bangladesh, Rwanda and Zambia

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