PlantVillage

On 23 March 2025, with generous support from British Council Nepal and Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON), we, PlantVillage Nepal launched the first phase of a 3-day organic waste conversion program — an important step toward sustainable agriculture and waste management in the region. This initiative, led by PlantVillage Nepal in collaboration with our incredible partners — World Food Forum Nepal Chapter (PYT - Lumbini), IAAS Nepal LC Paklihawa, Tilottama Municipality, and others — brought together 27 farmers for hands-on training on transforming organic waste into valuable farming resources like vermicompost, biochar, and trichoderma. The training took place on the commercial farm of a lead farmer in Tilottama Municipality, creating a space for practical learning and long-term impact. ?? A special shoutout to our dedicated team members, Bimal Dhamala and Nrisha Parajuli, whose leadership and commitment made this project possible. Thank you for taking this vision forward and empowering our farming communities. We’re proud to be working alongside passionate individuals and partners to build a greener, more resilient future. ???? #PlantVillageNepal #SustainableAgriculture #OrganicWasteManagement #Vermicompost #Biochar #Trichoderma #ClimateAction #BritishCouncilNepal #AYON #Lumbini #YouthInAg #Agroecology #GreenNepal

We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Nawiri Child Development Programme! ?? This collaboration focuses on community empowerment and child welfare, especially for girls in pastoral communities at high risk of early marriage and FGM. PlantVillage, through the Village Youth Fund (VYF), and Nawiri will partner to advance child protection and education. We will provide technical support and promote climate-smart agriculture. Nawiri will mobilize communities, support AI-driven agricultural solutions, and assist VYF in empowering vulnerable girls. Together, we are committed to creating sustainable solutions that protect vulnerable girls, strengthen communities, and build a more resilient future.

Exciting News! We’ve launched a beta version of our AI tool that lets you analyze images, ask farming questions, and access real-time soil and weather data to support smarter farming decisions. Built with advanced #AI models, it delivers insights tailored to your location—no downloads needed. ?? Try it now on our website: https://lnkd.in/d6ngeQkJ Be among the first to test it! Your feedback will help us refine the tool and better support farmers worldwide. Let us know what you think!

?? Nature Acting Itself for the Benefit of Farmers! In our recent research conducted in Kavre district under the technical guidance of Bipana Paudel Timilsena, the PlantVillage Nepal team, with support from Penn State University , successfully carried out a field experiment. We found a significant effect of Trichoderma-enriched biochar in combating clubroot disease in cauliflower. ???Findings: ??Trichoderma-enriched biochar greatly reduced clubroot infection, improving plant health and root development. In contrast, fields under traditional farmer management showed severe clubroot infections, affecting crop yield (Treatment 2). Based on the characteristics and size of the bulbs, scoring was done for the roots. The difference in plant roots was evident, with a score of 4 in clubroot-infected roots under the farmers' practice, whereas most roots in the Trichoderma-enriched biochar treatment had a score close to zero in most cases. This also had a direct impact on cauliflower weight and overall plant health. Infected plants produced smaller-sized heads compared to those treated with Trichoderma-enriched biochar. ??How It Works: ??Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, leads to swollen, deformed roots, restricting water and nutrient uptake. ??Trichoderma, a beneficial fungus, acts as a natural biocontrol agent, suppressing pathogens, enhancing soil health, and boosting plant resistance. This breakthrough reinforces our commitment to harnessing nature’s own warriors like Trichoderma to develop sustainable, eco-friendly solutions for farmers. #PlantVillageNepal #SustainableFarming #Trichoderma #Biochar #ClubrootControl #AgriInnovation

Despite the recent #USAID shutdown, PlantVillage at Penn State University continues to stand strong—and we’re thrilled to announce our expansion into South Sudan! For those unfamiliar, South Sudan ???? is a young, dynamic country rich in agricultural potential but facing multiple challenges around infrastructure, data collection, and pest management. Our goal as PlantVillage is to empower local communities by leveraging the power of AI through our PlantVillage Ag Observatories—specialized platforms designed to track real-time agricultural data, guide evidence-based decisions, and ultimately boost food security. What have we been up to? From March 3rd to 7th, our team (led by Machine Learning Lead in Africa, Millsort Kemboi) trained 15 participants from the Directorate of Plant Protection. (Hey Lenovo given you advertisements here, consider sending South Sudan more computers ?? ) We installed Ag Observatories, enabling real-time monitoring of soil moisture, temperature, humidity, crop growth, pests, and diseases via NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Climate Hazards Center and FAO We reviewed essential data needs for four key departments within Plant Protection—covering quarantine, field pests, integrated pest management, and pesticides—identifying critical gaps and building solutions. We designed a Rapid Assessment Tool to capture everything from farmer and farm details to pest, disease, and weed management data. This ensures a more robust understanding of on-ground realities and helps shape better interventions. ?? Why this matters *AI-Driven Insights: Our observatories provide real-time data, helping farmers and decision-makers anticipate pest outbreaks, adapt farming practices, and optimize yields. *Capacity Building: Through training sessions and the rollout of user-friendly tools like the PlantVillage App, we equip local stakeholders with the skills to manage data and make evidence-based policies. *Sustainable Growth: Despite setbacks, we remain committed to expanding our reach and helping more farming communities benefit from cutting-edge technology—now in South Sudan! ?? Next Steps *We’re finalizing the permanent observatory space and rolling displays for real-time visual updates. *We’re building additional data collection frameworks to fill the gaps in pest surveillance, pesticide import regulations, and more. *We’ll keep innovating to empower farmers with knowledge, best practices, and timely alerts. At PlantVillage, challenges don’t stop us—they strengthen our resolve to serve even more communities. We’re proud to plant roots in South Sudan and can’t wait to see the positive impact our AI Observatories will have on agriculture and food security across the region. Onwards and upwards #PlantVillage #AIForGood #SouthSudan #AgricultureInnovation #FoodSecurity

This was March 11th, 2025, Central Pennsylvania. It is 26 miles from State College where Penn State University is. I find the ability of the Amish community to maintain traditional approaches quite fascinating. I have seen this ploughing since I arrived in 2011 and nice to see it remains. There were four teams across Kishacoquillas Valley that day. (The Amish settled there in 1791 and the valley is named after a Shawnee Chief. Kishacoquillas means "The snakes are already in their dens".) Are the farmers in their massive John Deere or New Holland Agriculture (PA brand) tractors better off in terms of economics given the high re-payment plans? I have been enjoying immensely Jennifer Clapp's wonderful history of mechanization in USA and Canada since the 1830 ("Titans of Industrial Agriculture: How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters") Such questions matter to PlantVillage and our commercial spin out PlantVillage+ as we seek to drag smallholder farmers across Africa into the 21st Century. Via AI every smallholder farmer could have a Land Grant University in their phone and benefit from Penn State Extension just like the Amish do (which they do via in person meetings etc). But do we need massive diesel combines? We could have AI enhanced micro tractors with off grid recharging. It would maximize profits for the farmers while moving towards higher productivity without the concomitant increase in greenhouse gasses. Or the massive debt cycle we have seen. What do you think? Can we increase production without more pollution and debt? Can we keep the snakes in their dens?

Can #biochar transform poor soils and boost yields? Justine Ong'ala, a smallholder farmer in Busia, Kenya, found out firsthand! ?? On Emuria FM, Justine shared how PlantVillage+ biochar-enriched fertilizer turned her struggling #maize farm into a success. Her clay soil, once cracked and unproductive, now yields thrice as much—a transformation that even surprised her husband! Peer-to-peer learning is one of the most powerful ways to drive agricultural innovation. When farmers hear success stories from fellow farmers, adoption becomes easier. That’s why we engage farmers through local #radio outreach—scaling knowledge where it matters most. ?? Watch Justine’s story and see how biochar is changing lives. #PlantVillagePlus #BiocharSuccess #ClimateSmartAgriculture #SoilHealth

Even in the driest conditions, the right techniques can transform arid and semi-arid land into a source of nutritious food. These snapshots are from communal land in Baringo County, Kenya, where PlantVillage trained pastoralists in vegetable farming using zai pits—small water-harvesting holes that capture rainwater, reduce runoff, and allow moisture to seep into the soil. We also introduced PlantVillage+ biochar fertilizer, which improves soil water retention and boosts crop yields. The results speak for themselves. With these simple yet effective techniques, pastoralists are now growing fresh, healthy vegetables. Today, they enjoy fresh kale daily, improving both nutrition and food security.

I’m thrilled to share one of my latest projects – an advanced Plant Health Diagnostic system using AI! I integrated a custom BLIP-2 with a Swin Transformer for vision and Llama 3.2 for text to build a VQA generative model for plant disease diagnosis. The hierarchical window mechanism of Swin has proven to be a game-changer compared to traditional ViT, offering superior feature extraction and more precise disease feature detection. This model isn’t just limited to agriculture – its potential applications extend to medical diagnostics, surgical assistance, and even satellite imaging. Check out the repositories and dataset below for more details: Code Repository: https://lnkd.in/gYniqFhv Model Repository: https://lnkd.in/gxZtW4ky Dataset: https://lnkd.in/g7ANpjx9 I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Nakul Gopalan for his knowledge, support, and guidance, and to David Hughes and PlantVillage for their support. I’m also attaching my presentation for further insights. If you find this work interesting, please like or share – your support means a lot! #AI #DeepLearning #MachineLearning #ComputerVision #SwinTransformer #VQA #GenerativeAI #PlantHealth #MedicalImaging

The PlantVillage app, developed in Penn State University, helps farmers to instantly scan and diagnose pests and plant diseases in their fields. But we don’t stop at detection. While our app helps monitor major pests affecting maize, our team of young scientists mass-produces natural enemies like parasitoids to fight fall armyworm—providing farmers in Kenya with access to alternative pest control solutions. ?? Download App>https://lnkd.in/dZ4uzbfA