The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) is an international organization that uses science to solve important global problems in the realms of agriculture and the environment.
Ottawa, On. CABI has operations and members around the world, including in Latin America and the Caribbean and North America. In September, CABI hosted their consultation for the Americas. This was one of 3 regional events planned by CABI to obtain feedback on existing programs and initiatives in the region and for garnering input for the organization’s new strategic plan.
Attendees heard from a wide variety of speakers, on topics ranging from biological control of invasive pests, to funding priorities for Canadian and American donors.
One of CABI’s most successful programs is Plantwise, a program aimed at helping farmers around the world to identify and appropriately treat plant diseases and pests. The program has two main components, the establishment of plant clinics and an online database of plant health information. Jamaica has been a member of Plantwise for a number of years, with established plant clinics occurring around the country. The Jamaican delegate at the consultation gave a presentation on the successes of this program, including better pest management by farmers and decreased costs for national diagnostic labs. This program may be of great interest to other member countries across the Americas!
Thank you to the CABI team for hosting such an engaging and informative session!
For more information:
Audia Barnett
audia.barnett@iica.int
