What is CASI?
Conservation Agriculture based Sustainable Intensification is a combination of benefits- making soil healthy with less consumption of resources like water, labor, and fuel while an increasing number of shorter duration crops, improving yields with efficient use of resources leading to environmental sustainability. Compared to conventional farming practices, CASI approaches improve productivity and profitability through a reduction in water, fuel, and labor requirements for crop production. The reduction in inputs together with improved yields contribute to increased profitability.
Through on-farm trials supported by the SRFSI project, it has been successfully proven that CASI technology in the EGP (Bangladesh, India, and Nepal) results in improved varieties of rice and wheat, diverse crops can be grown (like maize, lentils, oilseeds, leafy vegetables), and even soil remains healthy.
It is necessary to know about the right machinery to adopt CASI techniques. This poster elaborates on the CASI machines.
These inspirational stories and a video here will show how smallholder farmers can expand their business by adopting CASI technologies and providing services efficiently.
How to become a CASI Service Provider?
The results of the use of CASI technology have proven to be better than conventional farming practices. CASI requires machines for zero tillage, direct seeding, residue incorporation, etc. These machines also require better skilled and trained operators.
These technical videos on the ZT machine in CASI Visual Syllabus Chapter Two will help viewers understand all the steps required to implement CA with Maize. Please check in with your local government for more information on CASI machinery training and government subsidies.
These inspirational stories and a video here will show how smallholder farmers can expand their business by adopting CASI technologies and providing services efficiently.
Is CASI service provision profitable?
Providing CASI service to smallholder farmers leads to a great economic opportunity at a time when many farmers are unable to use CASI only because of the timely unavailability of the machine or poorly trained operators. Many smallholder farmers have benefitted from it. Please see here for more impact stories.
This calls for an immediate need for machinery and trained service providers.
Here are some stories of SPs talking about changing profitability.
… for more productive, profitable and resilient farming systems
The SRFSI project is a regional research for development collaboration of more than 30 partners, focused on the Eastern Gangetic Plains.
