•
BASIS TRAINING
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
MAY 2018
being introduced all the time,
so it’s essential that those
providing advice remain up-to-
date, and collecting BASIS CPD
points will help to do so. This
will allow consultants to deliver
the latest information and
assist farmers inmaking
informed decisions.”
Altogether BASIS now offers
around fifty different courses in
various aspects of crop
protection, nutrition, agronomy
and conservation across a
range of crop types and
industry sectors. In addition
qualifications from different
modules, such as Plant
Protection, Soil &Water, and
Environment and Biodiversity
can be combined into the
BASIS Diploma in Agronomy,
which aims to provide a
qualificationwhich is available
to all experienced agronomists
and advisors, including those
whomay not have a formal
entry qualification in the
industry such as an HND or
university degree.
Agrower’s learning
experience
However, as the number of
courses and qualifications on
offer from BASIS increases, a
growing number of growers,
farmers and farmmanagers are
also choosing to study the
courses and often take the
necessary exams to achieve the
relevant certificate. One
example is Jonathan Gibbons,
who grows vegetables with his
father in Lancashire including
Savoy, pointed, white and red
cabbage, as well as Cos and
Little Gem lettuce, leeks, celery,
and radicchio.
He first took the BASIS
Certificate in Crop Protection
(Vegetables) course when he
finished college at the age of
18. “At the time, few people
had achieved the vegetable
certificate, so it was
recommended that I went to
Lincoln for the course by our
agronomist at the time,”
explains Jonathan. “Because I
hadn’t got a lot of practical
experience I didn’t sit the exam
that year. I did the course
pretty much straight out of
college, and there was somuch
that was new tome: all the
diseases andweeds for
example. I then had two years
of hands-on experience on the
farm, and a further two years
later I took the course again,
together with the examwhich I
passed. When I came back after
the break I understood the
background to things and it
was much easier.”
Different farmers and growers
have different reasons for
undertaking BASIS training
according to Simon Goodger,
Senior Lecturer & Short Course
Manager at the Department of
Agriculture at the University of
Lincoln, who organises the
courses taken by Jonathan.
“We are seeing an increase in
the number of farmers and
farmmanagers on BASIS
courses, and they now form the
majority of candidates onmost
of our courses,” he explains.
“Themost popular courses
with them are the BASIS Crop
Protection Certificate and
FACTS. Most farmers wish to
improve their technical
9
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Learning about crop protection for Alliums [Simon Goodger].
