Cassava production in Africa is constrained by number of biotic factors, including cassava mosaic disease (CMD). In response to this challenge, the PlantVillage Nuru application, which employs artificial intelligence for CMD diagnosis, provides farmers with the ability to independently detect the disease. This study examines the factors influencing the adoption of the innovative Nuru application by farmers in Benin. Data were randomly collected from 305 farmers in three Agricultural Development Poles (PDAs 5, 6 and 7). A binary logit model was used to analyze the determinants of adoption. The results show that, despite the potential of the Nuru application, the adoption rate remained relatively low at 14.1%. The key drivers of adoption were found to be participation in CMD training, disease knowledge, ownership of an Android smartphone, education level and practice of crop association. These findings emphasize the necessity of intensifying farmers’ training and raising awareness about CMD. Effective strategies to reach and train a significant number of farmers are crucial. Enhancing Nuru adoption can lead to more effective CMD management and improved cassava production, which will have a positive impact on food security in Africa and strengthen the resilience of farming communities against biotic challenges.

Transboundary diseases, such as cassava mosaic disease (CMD), represent a significant risk to food security and the livelihoods of millions of households in sub-Saharan Africa. To address this issue, awareness campaigns have been conducted targeting farmers and stakeholders within the cassava secor. The objective of this study is to quantify the impact of these awareness campaigns on the knowledge of CMD, the adoption of management practices, and the incidence of the disease in cassava fields. A random sample of 305 farmers and 77 cassava fields in Benin was selected for data collection. To account for potential selection bias associated with observable characteristics, we applied Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The results indicate that farmers who participated in the training demonstrated significantly higher levels of CMD knowledge and were more likely to adopt a greater number of management practices, which ultimately led to a reduction in the prevalence of the disease in their fields. However, CMD symptoms were still prevalent in the majority (61,04) of cassava farms, regardless of participation in the campaigns, due to the lack of healthy planting material and the abundance of whiteflies. These findings suggest that awareness campaigns can significantly improve farmers' knowledge and encourage behavioural changes in the identification and adoption of sustainable CMD management practices. It also shows the need to provide famers with healthy cuttings for more effective disease management.