India Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Program

Welcome to the India Certified Crop Adviser (India CCA) Program

We are excited about this new endeavor and grateful for the support that it has received from organizations inside and outside the agriculture community.  The India CCA Program is part of the International Certified Crop Adviser (ICCA) Program that is one of the professional certification programs of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA).  The ASA’s ICCA Program is based in the United States but the India CCA is based in New Delhi, India.

The CCA Program began in the United States in 1992 and Canada joined the program in 1997.  India CCA is the first venture outside of North America and greatly expands the international vision for the program.

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 three other centers with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, during the first three years of the program.

The India CCA Program is a professional development objective of the CSISA project that focuses on individuals who advise farmers.  Certification strives to set a standard that individuals meet to prove to others that they are qualified to do the work.  Individuals become certified as a professional enhancement and professional development.  Employers use the certification to qualify applicants for employment, improve performance and to lower their risk exposure by having a highly qualified work force.  Famers and growers use the certification to ensure that those they work with on agronomic advice are competent, up to date on the latest technology and practices and ethically bound to do what is in their best interests.

ASA has partnered through a licensing agreement with the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) to be the administrative organization for the India CCA Program.  ISAP will coordinate the efforts of the India CCA Board who will implement the policies and procedures of the ICCA Program.

The CCA Program is a voluntary program providing a base level of standard through testing and raising that standard through continuing education.  Each CCA must meet examination; experience; education and ethical requirements to become certified and to maintain their certification.  These standards are basically the same regardless of the country where the crop adviser resides.  Any adviser who spends the majority of their time working with farmers and can meet the standards, has the opportunity to become a CCA and join the more than 12,500 CCAs worldwide.

We’d like to encourage you to investigate for yourself the India CCA Program and begin your journey to professional certification.
 

For some additional background, see the article, "Certified Crop Adviser Program Developed for South Asia," CSA News, Sept. 2009.