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Moderated conference on rural advisory services for family farms: 1-18 December 2014

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Tue, 16 Dec 2014 09:12:46 +0100
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I am Javier Franco, previously a research scientist for several years and now working with the CABI-Plantwise program with plant clinics in Bolivia and Peru.



The questions from the conference background document that I will discuss are described below:



Question 4.1 



Small or medium-sized family farms and subsistence or near-subsistence smallholders of family farms differ regarding financial capability to have access to rural advisory services. For the last category of family farms, there is no way they can pay for that service as the second group could do it. 



Questions  4.2 and  4.5



As indicated above, if subsistence family farms are not capable of paying for any kind of rural advisory services these family farms require a free advisory service, such as that given in plant clinics by Plantwise-CABI which provide specific attention to solve plant health problems in several crops in some Latin American countries and other regions of the world.



Plantwise is a programme which fosters diverse partnerships across the plant health system to remove constraints to agricultural productivity. Working with partners in over 30 countries worldwide, the programme enables actors at all levels to better respond to pest threats. This includes providing diagnosis and advice based on integrated pest management (IPM) through a network of plant clinics, like those for human health, where farmers bring their crop problems. It is through Plantwise that countries can also tap into a global knowledge bank of information on pest diagnosis, management and distribution (http://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/home.aspx). With all the data from plant clinics collected into a secured area of the knowledge bank, Plantwise can inform policy makers about emerging pests and pesticide issues, helping put international frameworks into practice. Data coming in from the plant health clinics allow plant doctors to have pest and disease information from the farmers visiting their clinics and record it on prescription and record sheets. The intention is to capture as much accurate information as possible, enabling the plant doctor coordinators to monitor the activities within their districts. Accurate data collection also means that the knowledge bank will be displaying the latest and most detailed information on the global distribution of pests and diseases. 



In August this year, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, FAO and Plantwise convened a workshop in Accra, Ghana to build linkages that will enhance safe and sustainable food security at a national, regional and global level. It was one in a series of recent efforts to better integrate plant health activities and resources in the region. See http://www.fao.org/africa/news/detail-news/en/c/240451/ for more details.



Currently, in most countries with plant clinics, the internet is not used because very few people have access to a computer. However, the use of mobile phones is widespread and they could be used at plant clinics for advertising future clinic sessions. In Cochabamba in Bolivia, plant clinic doctors promoted by SMS messages to farmers’ phones. In fact, as almost all farmers around the world have a mobile phone, the regular use of a mobile network as a means of communication to farmers about soil, seed, fertiliser, weather and crop information is being planned.



Question 4.6 



A strong national program for establishment of plant clinics for small farmer families as explained above.



Question 4.7 



Participating in decision-making processes at local organization level such as municipalities, family associations, etc.



Javier Franco P., Ing. Agr., PhD 

Plantwise - CABI Associated, 

PROINPA Foundation

P.O. Box 4285

Cochabamba, 

Bolivia

Tel. 00 591 4312662

Mobile 71762875

Lima, Perú

Mobile 997 641137

e-mail: j.franco (at) proinpa.org



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