Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) with Sustainability Specialty · USA / Canada / international · International Certified Crop Adviser program (American Society of Agronomy)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersAgroecology as a science, a set of practices and a social movement: ecological processes in farms, the FAO ten elements, the HLPE thirteen principles, transitions and how to assess them.
In the exams: MSc agroecology and sustainable agriculture programmes; ICAR AIEEA-PG 3.5 Organic Farming; FAO and CGIAR roles
Certified Crop Adviser with Sustainability Specialty
Applying sustainability frameworks, soil health, nutrient balances, IPM thresholds and conservation planning to farm advice.
How our questions for Certified Crop Adviser with Sustainability Specialty spread across the units of Agroecology: Principles & Practice. Difficulty: 20 easy, 33 medium, 22 hard.
| Agroecology debates: yields, scaling and policy | 9 | |
| Biological regulation of pests | 8 | |
| The FAO ten elements of agroecology | 8 | |
| The HLPE thirteen agroecological principles | 8 | |
| Levels of agroecological transition | 8 | |
| Participatory research and farmer-to-farmer learning | 8 | |
| Assessing agroecological performance: TAPE and similar tools | 8 | |
| Agroecology as science, practice and movement | 5 | |
| Diversity, complementarity and synergy on the farm | 5 | |
| Nutrient cycling and recycling within farms | 4 | |
| Agroecosystem structure and function | 3 | |
| Traditional farming systems and indigenous knowledge | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
The 2015 Nyéléni Declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology mainly presents agroecology as:
D. A political project tied to food sovereignty and farmers' control of land, seeds and markets
The Nyéléni Declaration, from peasant and indigenous movements meeting in Mali, frames agroecology as a political project tied to food sovereignty and collective rights. It is not an input package, carbon method or residue standard.
An intercrop has an LER of 1.3, but the farmer earns less from it than from sole maize. Which explanation is consistent with what LER measures?
A. LER measures land use alone and ignores prices, labour and costs, so profit is a separate question
LER sums relative yields and is about land; profitability depends on prices, labour and costs. An LER of 1.3 does not mean more maize, only that sole crops would need 30 percent more land for the same outputs.
A hectare receives 80 kg N as fertiliser, 50 kg N from legume fixation and 20 kg N in manure, and exports 5 t of grain containing 2 percent N. The soil-surface nitrogen balance is:
A. +50 kg N/ha
Inputs = 80 + 50 + 20 = 150 kg N; output = 5,000 x 0.02 = 100 kg N; balance = 150 - 100 = +50 kg N/ha (a surplus). +150 ignores the export; +100 is the export itself; -50 reverses the sign.
A critic says the FAO element 'efficiency' is also claimed by conventional intensification, so the framework cannot distinguish agroecology. Which reply best matches FAO's intent?
B. The elements are read together; efficiency without diversity, recycling and equity is not FAO agroecology
FAO stresses that the elements are interlinked. Efficiency is indeed one of the ten (producing more with fewer external resources), and TAPE averages across elements rather than weighting efficiency.
Local markets, community-supported agriculture and public procurement from family farms illustrate which FAO element?
C. Circular and solidarity economy
Reconnecting producers and consumers and keeping value local is the circular and solidarity economy element.
Which FAO element emphasises that innovations respond best to local challenges when farmers and researchers create them together?
A. Co-creation and sharing of knowledge
Co-creation and sharing of knowledge covers participatory innovation and horizontal sharing.
In which mode of participatory research do farmers set the research agenda while researchers provide support?
C. Collegiate or farmer-led research
Participation ranges from consultation through collaboration to collegiate (farmer-led) research. On-station research involves no farmer participation.
Which of the following is one of TAPE's core performance criteria measured in Step 2?
D. Dietary diversity
TAPE's core criteria include secure land tenure, productivity, income, added value, exposure to pesticides, dietary diversity, women's empowerment, youth employment, agricultural biodiversity and soil health.
In the 'land sparing versus land sharing' debate, land sparing argues for:
C. High-yield farming on less land, with more land set aside for nature
Sparing separates intensive production from protected land; sharing integrates wildlife-friendly farming across larger areas. Evidence suggests the best mix depends on species and landscape.
'Scaling up' agroecology, as distinct from 'scaling out', refers to:
C. Changing institutions, policies and markets so agroecology is easier to adopt
Scaling out spreads practices to more farmers; scaling up changes the enabling institutions and policies.
Ten here, 75 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to Certified Crop Adviser with Sustainability Specialty in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
Free for ten days, then one subscription of US$10 a month. We would rather say so here than have you find it later.
An AI operating system for agriculture: free guides, manuals and tools written for every country.