The meeting of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Combine Harvesters of the Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM), was held from 19 to 24 May in Khon Kaen and Bangkok, co-organized by the Khon Kaen Agricultural Engineering Research Center (KK-AERC) of the Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AERI) under the Department of Agriculture of Thailand (DOA) and CSAM, who serves as ANTAM secretariat.

During the first part of week-long meeting, from 19 to 21 May in Khon Kaen, selected test items from the ANTAM Code for Combine Harvesters were conducted in the field to assess their applicability and feasibility, also in terms of the available facilities and equipment. TWG members shared their practices and experience in conducting tests and managing testing facilities. Additionally, the Thai Industrial Standard for Rice Combine Harvester (TIS 1428-2560) was presented to the TWG and some of its test items were demonstrated at the KK-AERC, aiding in the revision and update of the Code. 

After transferring to Bangkok, the TWG members convened from 22 to 24 May at the premises of Agritechnica Asia 2024, where they visited the exhibition and revised the harmonized ANTAM Code for Combine Harvesters in light of the field trials. The TWG finalized and approved a complete version of the Code for submission to the ANTAM Annual Meeting later this year.

The meeting was also supported by the Thai Society of Agricultural Engineering and the German Agricultural Association (DLG). In addition to the ANTAM secretariat and the TWG member experts from fourteen participating countries, the meeting was attended by the Chair of the OECD Tractor Codes, as well as observer delegates from Pakistan specially supported by ADB, whose staff also joined some of the meeting sessions.