The Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) in collaboration with China Agricultural Machinery Testing Centre, Ministry of Agriculture (CAMTC/MOA) successfully delivered the The 1st Training of Trainers Programme on ANTAM Test Codes in Nanjing, China from June 23rd to June 27th. This represents the first capacity building programme under ANTAM since its annual meeting in September last year and the TWG meetings organized in May in Serpong, Indonesia..

The training involved a total number of twenty participants of testing engineers from testing centres and agricultural mechanization research institutes of 11 member States of ESCAP i.e. Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

In order to target specific country needs and match participants’ area of expertise, the training was conducted in two parallel sessions based on two sets of draft codes on power tillers and knapsack powered misters-cum-dusters recently developed by the Techncial Working Group of ANTAM.

A pool of international trainers from China, France, India and Malaysia in collaboration with CAMTC designed rigorous curriculums to provide participants with solid knowledge of ANTAM testing standards. During the training, participants received theoretical instruction, and were provided with laboratory demonstrations and hands-on practice. Participants were also guided to fill up ANTAM standard test reports and given exposure to multiple testing practices. Thorough training manuals, including pictures of testing equipment were distributed to maximaize the effects of the training and facilitate knowledge sharing on standard testing in participating countries.

The training was aimed to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of ANTAM codes and procedures and practical knowledge on their application. Moreover, the training also provided an opportunity to test ANTAM codes and gather technical feedback from experts of participating countries.

In the following months, ANTAM participating countries will test run the ANTAM codes and generate uniform ANTAM test reports for technical review.  The first set of ANTAM test codes on power tillers and knapsack powered misters-cum-dusters, and uniform ANTAM test reports will then be submitted to the 2nd Annual Meeting of ANTAM for review and adoption.

ANTAM, launched by CSAM in November 2013, is aimed to harmonize testing procedures and standards in the Asia-Pacific region to promote sustainable agricultural production. ANTAM testing codes also add new elements in the commonly adopted testing procedures in terms of machinery quality, safety, efficiency and environmental impact of agricultural activities. Sixteen member States and region of ESCAP have designated national focal points for ANTAM. FAO, OECD, UNIDO and the European Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ENTAM) represented by the Italian Agency for Agricultural Mechanization (ENAMA) have joined CSAM in the Advisory Panel of ANTAM.