Following a decision made at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM) held on 15 and 16 December 2021, CSAM convened a Sub-Working Group on Mini Tillers among interested members of the ANTAM Technical Working Group (TWG) on Power Tillers. Experts from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Philippines, and Sri Lanka gathered online on 7 November and 5 December with the task to develop a new testing code for mini tillers. 

The Sub-Working Group, led by the Co-Chairs of the TWG Ms. Marie Jehosa Reyes and Mr. Mark Twain Limbo, and supported by Mr. Sandro Liberatori, representing the ANTAM Technical Reference Unit, as well as CSAM in its role as ANTAM Secretariat, collected inputs from all ANTAM participating countries about the national definitions and operations related to mini tillers, and with these inputs initiated the development of the new testing code, which will draw upon the existing ANTAM Code 001-2018 on Power Tillers and other national codes collected from the region.

The Sub-Working Group will continue its consultations into January 2023 with the goal to submit its work to the 9th ANTAM Annual Meeting for endorsement. ANTAM is an initiative led by CSAM that aims to harmonize testing standards for agricultural machinery in the Asia-Pacific region. The ANTAM Standard Codes promote the use of safe, efficient and environmentally sound agricultural machinery in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.