Disc to fight crop pests

Local officials training in computer skills

Villagers in Tanzania are finding out how to protect their crops thanks to a multimedia CD-Rom project.

The disc provides quick and easy access to much needed information on pests, diseases and weeds that can decimate crops.

"What is good about the compendium is that it has a lot of pictures," explained Theophilus Mlaki of Tanzania's Commission for Science and Technology.

"We can also produce printouts of a pest or a disease and give them out to farmers. We can show them pictures and add information in local languages."

Sick plants

The Crop Protection Compendium CD-Rom has been developed by the development organisation CAB International.

CD has images of pests

"Crop protection is fundamental to growing crops, particularly in developing countries," said Peter Scott, Programme Director of CAB International.

"If you don't know why your crop is sick and what it is sick with, you're in trouble."

"One of the things we're trying to do is provide easy tools that apply themselves readily to the task of what's the matter with this crop and what to do about this."

The CD was developed by the organisation as a way of offering farmers with a reference source that was light, portable and could provide photos and detailed information about the threats to their crops and how to counter them.

The disc contains data sheets for more than 1,850 pests, diseases and weeds, each with text and illustrations.

Sharing knowledge

One of the big advantages is the ability to search for information on a particular crop.

"We have distributed the compendium to many research and development groups involved with agriculture," said Mr Mlaki.

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"But for it to be useful for increasing food production, it has to be accessible to the people who go into villages and help farmers identify the diseases," he explained.

In Tanzania, they are testing a scheme to bring the CD-Rom to farmers in the countryside.

"We are trying to empower the local official to be the brains behind the agricultural information," said Mr Mlaki.

These people have been going to villages with a laptop and the disc, where they can be quizzed about a particular problem.

In some cases, the information has been printed out and handouts provided to farmers.

"If you live in a village and have a print out of a beetle, and are able to say to the people this is the one which destroys your crops, this is a great thing," said Mr Mlaki.

The disc is being used by hundreds of people around the world.

It is available to agencies in developing countries for US$100 and US$600 for organisations in developed countries.