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Maize plays an important role in the livelihoods of rural communities in Rwanda. However, maize yields are threatened by the presence of pests and diseases and a general lack of knowledge and information for their management. In this study we sought to assess if plant clinics are making farmers more aware and knowledgeable of pests and diseases and are indirectly contributing to higher yields. We interviewed 644 farmers across Rwanda, both users and non-users of plant clinics. Propensity score matching was used to match the users and non-users of plant clinics and logistic regression was used to assess a number of factors, including interactions with plant clinics, that affect farmers’ adoption of pest management practices. Our analysis shows that users of plant clinics are more aware and knowledgeable in recognizing and handling maize stem borers. Furthermore, users of plant clinics have on average higher yields than non-users and this difference is highly significant (P < 0.001). The analysis therefore demonstrates that plant clinics are beneficial to farmers in Rwanda. However, efforts are required to diversify the spectrum of practices that are promoted by plant clinics and by extension and advisory services in Rwanda.

Analysing the potential of plant clinics to boost crop protection in Rwanda through adoption of IPM: the case of maize and maize stem borers