This year East Africa has faced an unprecedented desert locust outbreak and covid-19 crisis that threatens smallholder farmers’ incomes and regional food security. Mercy Corps AgriFin, supported by the Skoll Foundation and working in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University’s PlantVillage team, has deployed digital technologies and partnerships to enable citizen reporting of desert locust sightings from rural communities to support the mapping and control response beginning in Kenya and expanding to Ethiopia, reaching millions of farmers.
This event will explore the ways in which different digital channels can support farmers in the face of this current crisis and how the lessons learned can apply to future emergencies from pest, disease and climate change induced shocks.
Hosted by: Mercy Corps AgriFin and Pennsylvania State University PlantVillage
Moderator: Leesa Shrader, Program Director Mercy Corps AgriFin
Presenters: (1) Dr. David Hughes, Associate Professor of Entomology and Biology, PlantVillage, Pennsylvania State University and
(2) John Mundy, AgriFin Tanzania Country Program Director and Desert Locust & Covid-19 Emergency Response Manager, Mercy Corps
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Sep 21, 2020 09:00 AM EST/02:00 PM London/04:00 PM EAT
Topic: Digital Technology, Emergency Response and Citizen Reporting – Mercy Corps Emergency Response to the Desert Locust Crisis in East Africa
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gEeNxuz5S62hd_muRuLGjg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.