The Future of Agronomy in the Field III: Who Will be the CCAs of the Future?

In recent decades, we have been configuring a new agriculture.  There are many conditions affecting food production in the future: high pressure for water and fierce competition for irrigation and drinking water, rapid urbanization on the most fertile soils, more food but inadequate distribution of food,  more and new pests, diseases and weeds against new knowledge, small versus large farmers,  industrial versus organic agriculture, and more sophisticated  foods and feed versus plain food, at both low and high levels.  If we want to survive in the long-term, we need to develop a new set of characteristics to optimize agricultural systems.

Currently in some countries, we have a new dual agriculture in which we are developing interest to achieve dual objectives such as eliminating hunger and at the same time producing highly sophisticated food.  The question is: can we develop a new type of CCA with the potential to lead these changes and support different kind of farmers?

Some times we say that our farmers need not just the technical approach,  they need a familiar focus, too. Why? Because agricultural activities are developed by families more than individuals.  For this reason, we need CCAs who can manage, first of all, the dual agriculture that we have but at the same time, transmit the knowledge that science has developed but also be expert in the ways to convince different kinds of farmers and their families to adopt new practices.

When we develop our capabilities in this dual approach,  my first thought is that we need to develop both the values of the CCAs and secondly, the technical  base.  If we have the best people, we will have better CCAs.