Biopesticides Portal – an online tool that

facilitates the identification, sourcing and

application of biological control products

Ulli Kuhlmann, Steve Edgington, Melanie Bateman & Emma Jenner

March 20, 2018

Biocontrol Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
CABI
• not-for-profit intergovernmental organisation,
established by a United Nations-level agreement
• owned by 48 member countries, which have an equal
role in the organisation’s governance, policies and
strategic direction
• over 500 staff worldwide in 12 centres
• addresses issues of global concern such as food
security and food safety, through research and
international development cooperation
• major publisher of scientific information – books,
ebooks, full text electronic resources, compendia and
online information resources

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

Plantwise – CABI’s flagship programme
Plant clinics are channels for the 2-way flow of information to and from farmers

Diagnosis and Farmer interviews

recommendation and data collection

Extension Knowledge Bank

materials and other www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank Intelligence on pests
support tools causing problems

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 Countries Plantwise operates in

The Americas Africa Asia

Barbados Jamaica Burkina Faso Mozambique Afghanistan Nepal
Bolivia Nicaragua DR Congo Rwanda Bangladesh Pakistan
Brazil Peru Ethiopia Sierra Leone Cambodia Sri Lanka
Costa Rica Trinidad & Ghana Tanzania China Thailand
Grenada Tobago Kenya Uganda India Vietnam
Honduras Malawi Zambia Myanmar

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 Scale

2,800 plant clinics 9,200 plant 18.4 million

established doctors trained farmers reached
2,842
9,209 18.4m
2,292
6,787
1,859
4,988
9.8m
1,412
3,591
2,077
720 4.5m
413 1,335
900 2m
181 90k 280k 600k

'11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 Recent Plantwise study to assess the contribution of the
extension service to the uptake of biological control

● Baseline study in 6 low- to lower-middle-income countries analysing

extension material developed within the Plantwise programme and advice
given by extension workers relating to the management of insect pests
using microbial and macrobial biocontrol products (over a one-year
time period, 1 July 2015 - 30 June 2016)
● We focussed on the following research questions, among others:
 Do nationally registered biocontrol products make it into the extension material
available to the plant doctors?
 Where extension material does include biocontrol products, how frequently are
plant doctors recommending these products to farmers?

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 What did we learn from this baseline study?

● Results revealed that nationally registered biocontrol products are not

always included in the extension material compiled by national experts in
the Plantwise programme; India and Nepal are better in this respect
● Even if biocontrol products are mentioned in the extension material used at
the plant clinics, they are only sometimes (or never – in Ghana and Zambia)
recommended to farmers by extension workers
● Extension officers have a lack of knowledge / awareness about biocontrol
products and their use

● Dougoud, J., Cock, M. J., Edgington, S., & Kuhlmann, U. (2018). A baseline
study using Plantwise information to assess the contribution of extension
services to the uptake of augmentative biological control in selected low-to
lower-middle-income countries. BioControl, 63(1), 117-132.

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 How can Plantwise/CABI facilitate
improved uptake of biological control
products by extension and farmers?

● Create a database to facilitate the

identification, sourcing and application of
macrobial and microbial products for
particular crop pest problems in a given country
● Develop a free to use mobile app and/or
website for use on smartphones, tablets and
desktop computers to put information about
biological control products at the fingertips of
farmers and extension workers, both within and
outside of the Plantwise programme

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

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 Potential users

● Farmers and extension workers

● Governmental regulators (pesticide registrars)
● Private sector decision-makers: out-grower
schemes, cooperatives, organisations
operating voluntary certification schemes
● Biological control manufacturers

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 Biopesticides Portal – current status

● Prototype available with nationally-registered

biological control products from 19 countries
● The Biopesticides Portal must represent an
independent and non-exclusive platform
● CABI is ideally placed to host this portal as we
are an independent and not-for-profit
organisation, and it fits well within our product
portfolio
● CABI as an intergovernmental organisation has
an opportunity to ensure that governmental
authorities support the portal
● Partnership with biological control manufacturers
will be crucial for quality assurance

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 What next?

● 6-month pilot phase in partnership with biological

control manufacturers for quality assurance and
user-testing purposes
● Select countries from the 19 in the portal in which
to launch the product
● Make final decision on name of portal
● Develop concept to ensure sustainability of portal
● Launch of 1st version of portal anticipated end of
2018

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

 ‫شكرا جزيال‬merci शुक्रिया zikomo
xie-xie obrigado
efharistó
ありがとう
thank
kiitos
urakoze
you
ke itumetse tak
gracias zikomo

dhanyawaad
asante
danke terima kasih

Contact us to find out more: Ulrich Kuhlmann, Executive

Director Global Operations u.kuhlmann.cabi.org
CABI is an international intergovernmental organisation, and we gratefully acknowledge
the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including:

Ministry of Agriculture,
People’s Republic of China

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE