‘Symbiotic engagement with Africa: Need of the World!’

Asia and Africa rise up to address their challenges mutually and make agribusiness a sustainable enterprise. ‘One billion people, representing 14 per cent of the global population, are still afflicted by hunger. Asia and Africa account for most of them. Food production has to proceed in a business-unusual manner; on a war footing’, implored President Pranab Mukherjee, chief guest at the first ever Asia-Africa Business Forum, organised by FICCI and GoI, held on 4-6 February 2014, at Kempinski Ambience Hotel, New Delhi.

With 25 Asian and African countries participating, the forum was a platform to agricultural ministers, dignitaries, industry leaders, policy makers and governments. Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture and Food processing Industries in his inaugural speech made ‘Agribusiness’ a buzzword adding, ‘having addressed issues of production and productivity, we have to make the transition to profits and profitability’. While FICCI President Sidharth Birla set the rhythm of mutual exchange, discussing opportunities to be tapped viz. Technical partnership to improve yield, JVs between Indian and African companies, Farm mechanisation, financing, infrastructure up gradation and post harvest management.

Ministerial sessions and paper presentations exploring the key measures for agricultural development and means of south-south co-operation saw respective ministers of agriculture/dignitaries from the countries like Afghanistan, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Maldives, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Ghana, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Zambia, participating.

Intense knowledge sharing took place with discussions on how to improve knowledge for access to markets and develop market-based solutions, agriculture credit, the prevalent systems and PPP as a mechanism to foster agribusiness in Asian and African countries, food security and strengthening for the entire value chain in both the continents. The ensuing exhibition had 

‘state-of–art’ technologies, best practices and innovations across the value chain of agriculture, food and food processing. 

Asian countries are running out of land and natural resources while Africa has abundant resources, collaborative ventures with symbiotic approach will be mutually rewarding. India and Africa jointly committed to cooperate towards a common ‘Millennium Development Goal’ of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition by 2015.