FACASI Project: Giving power to African farmers - learning from the Indian experience

Only launched in March 2013, the Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification project (FACASI) is already making significant progress. From 29 April to 10 May 2013, 16 agricultural engineers, agronomists, machinery importers, and machinery manufacturers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe took part in a study tour in India organised by CIMMYT and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The study tour’s aim was to identify opportunities for the exchange of technologies and expertise between India and Africa and to strengthen South-South collaborations in the area of farm mechanisation. Read all about the outcomes of the visit in CIMMYT’s latest edition of Informa (article p.3 available below).

The lessons learnt in India will be put into practice in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe through the project. The study tour has generated several ideas for the development of new machines by African engineers and created contacts between Indian manufacturers and African machinery importers which it is hoped will materialise into business opportunities.