African nations look to India for seeds, farm inputs

Participants of the 2^nd Africa-India Agricultural Economic Mission
during the Business to Business (B2B) meeting in Hyderabad

11-16 December 2011. Hyderabad, India. 2nd India-Africa Economic Mission laid groundwork for South-South collaboration. It was organized by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Brussels-based EMRC International.

The 25-member mission from Nigeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Malawi and South Africa comprised of academicians, planners and strategists, top executives and technical directors of private firms brought together by the economic need and the desire to ensure sustainable development in Africa.

In addition to the discussions, the field visits and the knowledge sharing, several Business to Business (B2B) meetings allowed the participants and their Indian counterparts to get down to business and forge partnerships.

KK Sharma of ICRISAT and Idit Miller
of EMRC International at the B2B meeting.

“It was an eye opener for me. During the B2B, I explored various business opportunities in India. Our population is far less than that of India but still lots of people sleep hungry. I want to use the technologies of India and implement them in our country,” says Mr Muhammed Nurallah Abubakar, Executive Director, Livestock and Fisheries Development and Marketing Company, Federal Ministry of Nigeria. “This was a great initiative by ICRISAT and EMRC. I have been in touch with the ICRISAT office in Nigeria since 10 years to understand various agricultural technologies. Setting up an agribusiness platform in Nigeria will be a great help to our country,” he added.

“B2B meetings are essential and one of the main reasons for taking part in these economic missions. One needs to be introduced to the most fitting business partner,” explains Idit Miller, EMRC International’s VP and Managing Director. “This mission emphasizes the need for private and public sector dialogue and partnerships”.

Related:
8 dec 2011 EMRC supports AFRICA. Video debate on Voxafrica TV with Mr Weinberger who works for the Enterprise and Industry Directorate General of the European Commission in Brussels and with Idit Miller of EMRC. They talk about the promotion of SMEs in Africa.
[the video is 24 minutes but a technical error occurred: the debate is repeated a second time to 47 minutes]


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