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Plant Protection Website and Mobile App

The Plant Protection Website and Mobile App greatly simplifies finding expert-verified instructions on protecting plants from pests, diseases and weeds. The app provides information on different types of plant protection products used in the country, including biologics, their correct and safe use against pests, diseases, and weeds on cultivated crops.

Type	Digital Solution
Organization	Neksigol Group (Neksigol Navovar is responsible for software development and Neksigol Mushovir is for technical backstopping on the agronomic part) and AgroInformAsia LTD
Organization Type	Consortium of partners
Country / Territory	Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
Location	Khujand, Bishkek
Implemented in	Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
Link	https://apps.agroinform.asia/en/manualszr/index.html https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tj.agroinform.manualszr&hl=ru&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tj.agroinform.szr&hl=ru&gl=US https://szr.agroinform.asia/tj https://szr.agroinform.asia/ru
Use case	Capacity development and empowerment; Agricultural extension and advisory services
Domain	Plant health and production
Description	A particularly useful feature of the app is that the instructions can be found through trade names and active ingredients of plant protection products, names of crops, names of pests, diseases and weeds. Users of the app can also find information on spraying rules, types of sprayers and their calibration, how to prepare working mixtures and safety precautions when spraying chemicals.
Since	2015; 2022
Maturity	Proven (Scale-up)
In partnership	UNDP
Technology	Mobile application; Digital (online) platforms (forums, communities, portals)
Technology description	The electronic guideline on plant protection is available as a web-platform and Android mobile app in three languages - Tajik, Kyrgyz and Russian. If an Internet connection is always required to access the web platform, then by downloading the mobile app to smartphones, users can use it without an Internet connection. The electronic guideline has search function by keywords, needed information can also be found using the built-in pointers.
Users	Smallholder farms; Medium-size farms; Large-size farms; Private sector; Civil society organizations (NGOs, local action groups); Public sector; Research institutions or academic organizations
Users’ description	The Plant Protection Website and Mobile Apps are intended for agricultural professionals and consultants, organizations involved in the sale of plant protection products and interested farmers, first of all, from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. But the apps have the potential for wide outreach across Central Asian countries as they are available in the Russian language as well.
Business model	Fully free; Advertising
Business model description	The apps are free to download and use on personal devices through Google Play Store or the app's website. Also, the web-platform is open to users without limitations. Although, two types of in-app advertising are implemented in the app, that is Google Ads and its own module for displaying ads about seeds, crop protection products, fertilizers etc. from specific advertisers. The costs are 10$/monthly or 50$/yearly.
Challenges	The electronic plant protection handbook for Tajikistan is based on the "Plant Protection Handbook" which was elaborated in 2010. Since then, many new plant protection products have appeared on the market in Tajikistan, and many of the already used products have been banned from sale in other countries because of their danger to plants, the environment and humans. Therefore, there is an urgent need to update the content of the handbook, followed by updating its electronic version.
Food Value Chain stage	Production
Impact	Improving access of farmers to expert-verified instructions, this tool can prevent excessive and unnecessary use of chemicals. This helps farmers to reduce plant protection costs, while at the same time reducing the impact of their agricultural activities on the environment. The mobile apps have, so far, more than 10 000 downloads. There are more than 3 000 monthly visitors to the web-portal.
SDGs	SDG 1: No poverty; SDG 2: Zero Hunger; SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth; SDG 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure