Category: Portal in action
At a glance
- Nguyen Thanh Phat is an agricultural extension officer at Dong Thap Agricultural Extension Centre in Vietnam.
- Before receiving training, he found it difficult to identify suitable bioprotection products for farmers.
- Through training on coconut integrated pest management and CABI digital tools, he learned how to use the CABI BioProtection Portal.
- Phat is promoting the Portal through farmer training activities and plans to share it with other extension officers and agricultural advisors.
Nguyen Thanh Phat is an agricultural extension officer at Dong Thap Agricultural Extension Centre (AEC) in Vietnam. For the past five years, he has supported farmers growing coconut, durian, pineapple, dragon fruit and other important crops across the province.
A key part of his role is helping farmers address pest challenges and improve crop protection practices. However, before receiving specialised training, identifying suitable biological solutions for farmers was often difficult.
The challenge of coconut pest management
Providing reliable advice on coconut pest management requires access to accurate, up-to-date information about available crop protection options.
Before attending a CABI PlantwisePlus Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on coconut integrated pest management (IPM) and CABI digital tools, Phat faced challenges in providing crop protection advise to farmers.
“Before receiving the training, I had difficulty finding biopesticides when giving recommendations to farmers.”
Discovering the CABI BioProtection Portal
Through the CABI PlantwisePlus ToT programme, Phat learned how to use the CABI BioProtection Portal and quickly recognised its value as a practical tool for advisory work.
The Portal helps users identify registered bioprotection products available locally.
“With the BioProtection Portal, all I need to do is enter the pest and crop name, and I can find the list of registered biopesticides that can be used to manage the pest.”
For Phat, the Portal simplified the process of finding biopesticides in Vietnam and enabled him to provide more informed recommendations to farmers.
“Using this tool, I can search the biopesticides that can be used, the pesticides already registered and commercialized in Vietnam, I can recommend those biopesticides for farmers.”
Helping coconut farmers make informed decisions
The Portal provides more than product listings. It also contains information on active ingredients, microbials, natural substances and other biological control options.
According to Phat, this information helps farmers better understand the available pest management solutions and distinguish between true biological products and other pesticide types.
“The Portal is not only an effective tool for searching biopesticides, but also provides additional information such as microbials, natural substances, active ingredients and species.”
Farmers can use the Portal to search for suitable products based on specific crop-pest combinations, supporting more informed and sustainable pest management decisions.
Sharing knowledge with farmers
Following the ToT, Phat independently organised and delivered several farmer awareness and training sessions to share this knowledge with local farmers.
During these sessions, he introduced the CABI BioProtection Portal and demonstrated how farmers could use it to search for registered bioprotection products suitable for specific crop and pest combinations.
“When conducting farmer training, I explain the benefits of using this tool, help farmers install it, and show them step by step how to use it to search for biopesticides.”
By helping farmers access information directly, Phat is increasing awareness of bioprotection products and good IPM practices.
Providing real-world value
Phat believes the benefits of the Portal extend beyond individual farmers. He plans to introduce it to colleagues and other agricultural advisors who support farming communities throughout Vietnam.
“I will share the CABI BioProtection Portal with colleagues and agricultural extensionists who also need information for their work. I believe that the Portal will be helpful for them and support their work in providing recommendations to farmers.”
His experience demonstrates how digital tools can strengthen coconut pest management by improving access to information on registered biopesticides and other biological solutions.
As more agricultural extension officers and growers use the Portal, it has the potential to support informed decision-making and encourage wider adoption of sustainable pest management practices among coconut farmers in Vietnam.
