The concept of a plant health system (PHS) is mainly anchored on experiences from human health where varied sources of knowledge, expertise, and technology are combined to provide healthcare. While diverse human health systems have been proven, little is known about PHS and what is needed to base effective plant healthcare services. A stakeholder analysis was carried out in Burundi. The aim is to understand the system as it is presently and to identify constraints and opportunities. This paper reports on the process and results of this assessment. The initial step in this process was to define PHS and its functions and to evaluate stakeholders’ interests and influence. The first step was followed by examining stakeholders’ perceptions concerning the sustainability of interventions geared at strengthening PHS functions. The process included a document review and stakeholder workshops. After the stakeholders defined the PHS functions, they proceeded to identify valuable actors. The assessment process highlighted several key challenges, including inadequate skills to serve farmers and insufficient capacity to diagnose pests, as significant impediments to effective PHS performance. Based on the information marshalled here, seven broad interventions are proposed for practitioners to strengthen Burundi’s PHS rapidly.

Plant pests cause crop losses of 30–40%, contributing significantly to global food insecurity. The Plantwise program works alongside national agricultural extension services, who advise smallholder farmers on plant health issues and collect data on problems they face. In a 1-year pilot, Plantwise tested the use of information and communication technologies (ICT)—tablets and short message service (SMS)—with 60 Kenyan extension workers. They were able to assist more farmers with better advice, had significantly improved access to plant health information, valued being able to ask their peers for advice, and dramatically improved the quality and speed of the data they collected.

This article examines pest management practices recommended to smallholder farmers by extension agents, and the factors influencing the same. The study focused on plant health clinics, established under the Plantwise program, as primary providers of data. A diverse range of biotic and abiotic stressors was found to hamper crop production in the smallholder agricultural subsector of Kenya. Much as extension workers prescribed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, albeit on a limited scale, management of crop pests was mainly by use of non-IPM practices. In addition, significant associations were observed between the prescribed practice and individual moderators (namely extension officer’s gender, age, education level, and location), type of crop and causative agent. The results of the study confirm the need for further investments in the smallholder agricultural subsector of Kenya. In particular, the sector should prioritize capacity-building initiatives for extension agents on ecological and economical sound approaches to pest management.

Many growers rely on good agricultural extension services to successfully grow their crops. Correct field diagnoses of plant health problems are an essential starting point. However, some agricultural extension workers may have had limited capacity building in field diagnosis during their agricultural education, and many may have had limited or no continuing education possibilities during their advisory work life. As a result, errors may occur in the course of diagnosis of plant health problems with devastating consequences. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess the value of short and inexpensive in-service training that is intended to improve the quality of field diagnosis of plant health problems. Eight groups of agricultural extension workers totaling 165 participants were trained during a 3-day-long intensive course in the diagnosis of plant health problems as part of the plant doctor training in the Plantwise program in Burundi (44 ± 9 years of age, 14 ± 10 years of experience in agriculture and 8 ± 7 years in extension; 10% females). Empirical data from before-versus-end and after-course analyses revealed that such courses can indeed increase knowledge and skills in field diagnosis by 20 ± 8% points during the training and by 9 ± 4% points when having worked for 8 to 19 months after training. The level of variability among extension workers was also reduced by 0.8 ± 1% points pre-course versus end-course, and by 1.1 ± 0.3% points from pre- versus post-course. Interestingly, there seemed little to no influence of work experience in agricultural extension on the quality of field diagnosis of plant health problems. More advanced educational levels only slightly improved the diagnosis quality of extension workers; gender played no role; younger workers performed slightly better than older ones. This may indicate a lack of opportunities for further training as part of continuing adult education. Our results suggest regularly repeated in-service training for agricultural practitioners may be beneficial. Investments in such training seem worthwhile since better diagnoses can lead to more appropriate pest management advice and judicious use of pesticides.