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Certified Crop Adviser Program Developed for South Asia |
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Tuesday, 09 June 2009 |
American Society of America via News Blaze: - The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), an international scientific society based in Madison, WI, will develop and implement a highly qualified workforce program for private and public sector extension by establishing a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program in South Asia. The main target for this program will be the frontline agronomists employed by private companies, non-government organizations, and public sector agencies. Certification by ASA ensures that crop advisers are competent in all aspects of crop production and provide services in an ethical manner.
ASA has partnered on the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), which brings together a range of public- and private-sector organizations to enable sustainable cereal production in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. CSISA is led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the three other centers with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $19.59 million, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contributing more than $10 million, and the World Bank, $0.5 million, during the first three years of the program.
As J.K. Ladha, an IRRI soil scientist and leader of Objective 7 of CSISA, Creating a New Generation of Scientists and Professional Agronomists, said, "The private sector in India and in other countries in South Asia is moving aggressively in the agricultural area, but they do not have a certified program for crop advisers to help transfer knowledge for improving crop productivity. Many technologies that we have on the shelf are not going efficiently and quickly to the farmer. About 25% of the overall CSISA program is funded for delivery of information to the farmer and that is the key in making this program successful."
Read the full story.
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