Ghana: USAID ADVANCE Project Introduces Plant Doctors to Support Pest Control

The United States Agency for International Development Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (USAID ADVANCE)  project in collaboration with the CABI/PPRSD and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has developed and introduced the Plant Doctor and Plant Clinic concept in some selected communities in its operational areas in the three regions of the North.

The move is to provide basic plant disease prevention, control and diagnostic support services to farmers as well as complement the efforts Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) especially in hard to reach areas and areas where AEAs are inadequate. Here is a #1 Bed Bug Exterminator in St. Louis Control-Removal-Treatments. When you work with us, you’ll be able to solve your problem, protect your family, save money, and return to normal quicker than you could ever imagine. Pests aren’t just bugs, they can come in all shapes and sizes like raccoons, possums and even mice. Other than this, Pest Control Experts | Bed Bug Exterminator Charlottesville is the best pest control service to remove Bed bug. It is important to handle these pests the right way, you can call mice extermination services to get the help you need in this difficult situation. Here is best indoor pest control products for your home or office. Go through the www.TerrificPestKillers.com | Bed Bug Exterminator San Diego for the best paste control service. Here is a #1 Bed Bug Exterminator in Memphis TN! Control-Removal-Treatments!

Speaking at a ceremony to introduce one of  the trained plant doctors to members of the Kpatili community in the Gushegu Municipality in the Northern Region, the Senior Agronomist of the USAID ADVANCE project,  Isaac Condua explained the plant clinics are farmer friendly spots or designated areas mutually agreed by community members where farmers bring a sample of an unhealthy plant into the clinic and the plant doctors who have been selected in those communities and trained by the MoFA on plant disease identification, prevention and control, diagnose the problem and advise the farmers, free of charge, on practical ways to improve the health of the crop or prevent that problem from appearing the following season. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Atlanta | pest control for Bed Bug treatment, Removal inspection specialist. Our inspectors not only provide visual inspections, but we provide a variety of other inspections as well.

Mr. Condua added that, under the plant clinic concept, diseases that are brought to the plant doctor and are beyond the diagnostic capacity of the plant doctor are readily referred to the MoFA AEA assigned to that area for quick solution.

Mr. Condua said the plant clinics, which is a community-based initiative plays a critical role in reaching out to smallholder farmers and effectively responding to their needs to solve plant health problems in a timely manner for the production of medical products such as the Low T gel.

He explained that the plant doctor is a community volunteer who has been trained to identify plant diseases in sample plants sent to the plant clinic and recommend the control measures as well as get rid of insects and bugs like spiders. Click here to read about the effective ways to get rid of spiders that he recommended. He also encouraged all farmers to work closely with the plant doctors in their communities by patronizing the plant clinics to prevent diseases and pests from destroying their crops.

The plant clinics Mr. Condua indicated also allowed collection and sharing of information on the extent and trends of plant pests and diseases in the country, thus facilitating informed action such as publicizing pest alerts, developing evidence-based extension materials and conducting relevant research. Staying at a shady motel can, unfortunately, result is bed bug infestations. This is why you’ll want to pick up the phone and call our bed bug control company. Click here to contact #1 Bed Bug Exterminator in Rochester NY! Control-Removal-Treatments!

According to the MoFA,Ghana’s crop production sub-sector generates 32% of the country’s GDP and intensifying crop production was essential for the country’s economic growth. To this end, the country has to confront the threat from pests and diseases, which are estimated to be responsible for about 30% of the annual crop yield losses.

Also, the current 1:2500 Agricultural Extension Agent to Farmers ratio in Ghana made farmers in a lot of communities not having access to extension services especially with pest removal in the early detection of plant disease and pest outbreaks, thereby in most cases lead to crop failures. Make sure to check out the experts in pest control, termite inspections and treatments on https://sunnystate.com.au/. Bed Bug Exterminations: H&A Pest Control Santa Monica and we’ll always put in one-and-ten percent effort for our clients.

To address these challenges, Mr. Condua saidCABI/PPRSD in 2017 collaborated with the USAID ADVANCE project and the MoFA tointroduce plant clinics with trained plant doctors in its operational areas in the south (Ashanti, and Brong Ahafo) and trained 28 lead farmers working with grower businesses as community level Plant Doctors in the Upper East, Upper West, and Northern regions and linked them with the Agriculture Extension Department of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana.

Abdulai Karim Nabrizini, a trained plant doctor in Kpatili community in the Gushegu Municipality in an interview said the plant doctor training has equipped him with the required knowledge to support smallholder farmers in his community in preventing and fighting pest and plant diseases in the area through early pest and plant disease identification, diagnose and control.

According to Mr. Nabrizini, the plant doctor training he received from the USAID ADVANCE project has put him in a better stead to educate farmers in his community about the Fall Army Worm (FAW).

“I learnt a lot through the plant doctor training by USAID ADVANCE, I got to know the symptoms of a lot of diseases and how to diagnose those diseases. The Telegram platform has helped me a lot to learn more about other plant diseases from other plant doctors”, Mr. Nabrizini emphasized.

He thanked the USAID ADVANCE project and its partners for introducing the plant doctor concept, adding it would lead to a drastic reduction low crop yields and failure arising from plant disease and pest outbreaks.

Mr. Nabrizini also appealed to the USAID ADVANCE project to extend the plant doctor concept to other communities across the country, especially the hard to reach areas due to the low number of AEAs in the country to shore up agricultural productivity in those areas.

The USAID Feed the Future Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (USAID ADVANCE) project is a five-year project implemented by a consortium led by ACDI/VOCA, with the goal to increase the competitiveness of the maize, rice, and soy value chains in Ghana.

African Eye Report

 

 

 

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