A new CABI-led worldwide programme - PlantwisePlus - has been launched to help support low and lower-middle income countries to predict, prepare themselves for and prevent plant health threats in a changing climate reducing crop losses and empowering farmers to increase income, food security and food safety by producing more and higher quality food.

A researcher from the University of Tsukuba, together with well-known development economists, conducted randomized trials of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) agronomy method. Following SRI training of 5,486 Bangladeshi rice farmers, they compared trained and untrained farmers. The results showed compelling benefits for SRI's efficacy in increasing yield and profits, how it improves farming households' well-being, and its positive spillover effects in communities. This bolsters support for SRI's value, especially in the Global South.