American Society of AgronomyInternational CCA Program

International Expansion

International Expansion

• India– IRRI Project

• Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA)• Funding – Gates Foundation, USAID, World Bank

• Argentina– Working on marketing plan

India

• Strong interest among academia, industry, NGOs, government – fair– Continuing education is new concept of

maintaining a position in agriculture

• Potential 3,000-5,000 CCA in 3 to 5 years– might take longer to get to 5,000 but still a large

potential pool

• 3 visits so far

Performance Objective Development Session New Delhi, June 2009

India• April 2009 started drafting the exam POs and

organizing the infrastructure• Hired a CCA Program Manager based in Delhi• Challenge – doing business, setting up structure

with partners– Identified a potential business partner– Developing a licensing agreement

• Larger purpose – increased food production in region with more efficient use of inputs, i.e. water and fertilizer

• Grant to ASA - $50,000/year for 3 years

India

• September 2009– Identified a local business partner to administer

the program– Certifying board and exam committee are being

organized– POs are in end user review and members are

starting to write exam questions– Target is to offer the exam for the first time in

November 2010 (June will do a beta test)

Argentina

• Strong interest among industry, NGOs, academia, less by government

• One visit in March 2009• Potential 1,000 CCAs within 5 years• 15,000 agronomists, no ASA counterpart• Similar agriculture to US, same companies• Conclusion – develop proposal to do market

analysis, 4 months, $10,000, not yet received

CCA Model World Views

• World Food Prize – Program in Des Moines, IA– Gabesia Ejecta – Sorghum breeder, Purdue Univ.– Implementation of technology is key problem in

many regions of the world.– CCA program may have a fit in many areas that

are dealing with small holder farmers where technical assistance is vitally needed.

International Fertilizer Industry AssociationTask Force on “Effective Last Mile Delivery”*

o An assessment of the current methodologies being followed in developing countries/regions such as China, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc;

o Collection of successful last-mile delivery examples in developing countries. This library could be showcased for creating models for adoption elsewhere;

*Patrick Heffer, Secretary, Agriculture Committee, IFA, Paris

International Fertilizer Industry AssociationTask Force on “Effective Last Mile Delivery”*

o A paper defining industry's strategy to best address technology and knowledge transfer: role of the industry, partnership, etc. This paper might need to be translated into regional industry guidelines for effective last-mile delivery;

o Possible field programmes in selected countries: so far, India is ahead of the other countries. It might be good to consider launching a similar programme with partners in a few other countries.

*Patrick Heffer, Secretary, Agriculture Committee, IFa, Paris