Rice Doctor -An innovative technological approach to enhance rice production
- From
-
Published on
05.08.19
- Impact Area

Crop losses due to insect pests and diseases are a major threat to farming communities globally. In the case of rice, up to 37% of economic losses are caused by insect pests and disease infestation. Timely and accurate disease and insect pest diagnosis and management can not only reduce crop losses, but also help protect the environment.
In the last decade, Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been increasingly used for information sharing. With mobile internet services becoming available in even the remotest locations, ICT-based agricultural solutions are finding a foothold on the farms of poor smallholders.
IRRI’s “Rice Doctor” is an ICT-based tool that supports diagnosis of insect pests and diseases and enables farmers to make timely decisions for better pest management. It helps farmers access global knowledge and information to address their challenges.
Rice Doctor is an interactive crop diagnostic tool developed to cater to the needs of the extension and advisory service providers and farmers as primary users to identify insect pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies, toxicities, and agronomy related problems of the crops. It provides information on these problems as well as recommendations to address them. It can also be useful for researchers, students and private input dealers.
Rice Doctor is currently available online at http://ricedoctor.irri.org as a mobile app that can be downloaded free of cost on smartphones and tablets.
The Odisha version of Rice Doctor is being developed with the support of the State Government of Odisha, under the project “Increasing Productivity of Rice-based Cropping Systems and Farmer’s Income in Odisha”. To facilitate the localization of Rice Doctor in Odisha, user testing and workshops were conducted with extension intermediaries, farmers, and plant protection specialists from partner institutions.
User testing helped assess the efficiency and accuracy of…
Related news
-
Harnessing digital tools in securing soil health for Africa’s food future
Sehlule Muzata27.06.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Environmental health
-
Nutrition, health & food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Nairobi, 27 June 2025 (IITA) - As it marks its first anniversary, the Regional Hub…
Read more -
-
Harnessing digital tools in securing soil health for Africa’s food future
Sustainable Farming Science Program27.06.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Environmental health
-
Food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Nairobi, 27 June 2025 (IITA) - As it marks its first anniversary, the Regional Hub…
Read more -
-
From Demonstration to Scaling for Impact: Driving Food Systems Transformation through Innovation in Malawi.
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)25.06.25-
Gender equality, youth & social inclusion
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
By Greenwell Matchaya, Mahlatse Nkosi and Nora Hanke-Louw The CGIAR delegation recently took part in…
Read more -