German govt keen to partner with Indian cos for food, agri cooperation
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
November 27 , 2014
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The government of Germany is keen to partner with Indian industries in
the fields of food and agriculture cooperation. This was stated by Dr
Hermann Schloder, who heads the German federal ministry of food and
agriculture’s trade promotion and quality policy division, at the
Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Agro Tech 2014, which concluded
in Chandigarh recently.
Speaking at a session featuring agro
business companies from Germany and India, he said, “Since the
agriculture scenario and its challenges and opportunities are alike in
the two countries, it is imperative that they work in tandem, learning
and sharing from each other’s experiences.”
“We are willing to
share our research findings, experiences and policies, and the latest
technologies and best practices adopted in Germany with Indian farmers,
especially those in the north, so that they can also benefit by adopting
the same,” Dr Schloder added.
“One thing India can learn from us
is agri subsidies. This was a challenge in Germany, and is presently
the case in India. We gradually reduced our dependence on agricultural
subsidies, which made our agro-business companies adopt newer means of
production and advanced procedures converting the net importers into net
exporters. We would like to see the same happen in India, and are
really committed to extend full support,” he said.
“Germany and
India must rely on each other, and develop a mutual understanding for
better future cooperation, which could be possible by organising more
and more delegation visits of scientists, academicians, government
representatives and exchange programmes and study tours of farmers from
both countries,” he added.
Ursula Holzhauser, food and
agriculture counsellor, German Embassy, said, “We, in Germany, are very
aggressive in adopting latest technologies in agriculture, since
agriculture is the primary occupation in our country, so we can guide
the Indian farming community and the agro processing units a lot as
well.”
Being very upbeat about the Indian consumer market, she
stated, “The Indian consumer market is highly attractive globally, and
if we are able to integrate the supply from Germany and the demand from
India, the two nations would benefit tremendously.”
Alina Gumpert
of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association said, “There are many
German agro companies which are looking for mutually-beneficial business
associations with their Indian counterparts. It is thus our aim to
establish a strong network of association for greater cooperation.”
“By
associating with industry bodies like CII, we seek to represent their
interests in the Indian economy and help them engage in new projects.
Our newest initiative, Potato India Field Day, is the first step towards
engaging much larger Indo-German association,” she added.
“By
showcasing the entire process from growing to cultivation by synergising
German engineering with Indian production, we seek to take the first
step towards creating a value system for the future,” Gumpert added.
Rajesh
Srivastava, co-chairman, CII Agro Tech 2014 Conferences, and chairman
and managing director, Rabo Equity Advisors Pvt Ltd, said, “While India
is amongst the top agricultural countries of the world, the core issue
is of productivity, which I feel can only be addressed by critical
technological intervention.”
“We all know that Germany is the
king of disruptive technology, and this time is ripe for an amalgamation
of German technology and Indian productivity,” he added.
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