The Pest surveillance Program is a newly created program in NPPC. The program is responsible for Timely collection and availability of pests/diseases/weeds information to assure the necessary preparedness for providing prompt plant protection services. The web based ePest Surveillance System has been developed and maintained by the section. The main purpose is to compile and share real-time information on pests of Agricultural crops in Bhutan. Only authorized persons are permitted to enter information, while others are free to browse and obtain information from the database that may be useful.
The ePest surveillance system uses an android tablet that has the combination of various cutting edge technologies (GPS/GPRS/GSM) for the real time geo-referenced data capture and transmission via internet. It is connected to a central server that will allow rapid data entry, collation and analysis, and makes the data reports available in real time to the participating Geogs, Dzongkhags and Research Centers. Any desired combination of qualitative and quantitative outputs can be generated, that may be used to develop strategic pest management plans. As this system can gather and store information for any given time period, it will allow us to study the trend of pests occurrence with reference to contributing factors such as climate change and changing crop production system. The trend in pest occurrence under variable climatic conditions will enable us to develop pest forecasting and Early Warning system.