When the COVID-19 pandemic led to national lockdown in many countries restricting people from stepping out of their homes, the first massive open online course on Conservation Agriculture based Sustainable Intensification provided by Bihar Agriculture University (BAU) at agMOOCs portal with the support of Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project experienced a sudden escalation in the number of participants enrolling the course. It provided an opportunity for learners especially during lockdown that has left many of us feeling restless with unexpected extra time on our hands.
To explain the basics of CASI and the advantages for smallholder farmers, as a part of ACIAR-funded SRFSI project led by CIMMYT, our partner BAU started a six week online course from February 12 till March 31. With 7417 virtual participants from 50+ countries, this course focused on portfolios of CASI, machinery, agronomic management, challenges, advantages and business models to implement CASI service provision business, with theaim of providing a thorough overview of CASI systems to a wide audience ranging from students, agri-professionals, farmers to extension officers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. Ultimately, 2,578 of the participants completed the entire course and were awarded a completion certificate from the Centre for Continuing Education Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Commonwealth of Learning, Canada and Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour.
“A very good course. It helped develop my skill and personal knowledge on CASI based farming. It also helped gather more information and share them with field-based farmers and different stakeholders. The audio-video course with transcripts in PDF is an effective method though I personally prefer my native Bengali language. The certificate of completion is also useful for professional development as well Anup Kumar Ghosh, Technical Officer – CASI, RDRS Bangladesh”
For more information, please contact Dr Ram Datt Mishra ([email protected]).