Asia-Africa Agribusiness Forum

4 - 6 February. New Delhi, India. The Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum provided a huge opportunity for countries from Asia & Africa to strengthen cooperation and forge new partnerships in the agriculture and food processing sector.

The Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum included a

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 

the Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum

• Plenary Sessions focusing on farm inputs, mechanization and extension services 
• International Exhibition from India, Asia and Africa; 
• Pre-scheduled B2B meetings. 

A special Ministerial Session of Agriculture Ministers from Asia andAfrica laid the foundations of developing the joint framework for agricultural cooperation between the two continents.Following Ministers of Agriculture from Africa participated: Botswana ; Burundi ; Chad ; Kenya ; Maldives ;  Namibia ; Seychelles ; South Sudan ; Sudan ; Zimbabwe ; Ghana ; Zambia.

Published on 4 Feb 2014 This is small teaser from the Ministerial session wherein Agriculture Ministers from various African and Asian nations participated.



Published on 12 Feb 2014 Day 2 of Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum is a true reflection of the agricultural developments, infrastructure and ideas that both the continents have in kitty. The forum features various sessions held on distinct themes. Many high dignitaries form Asian and African government and corporate world.



Access to Market, Finance and PPP in AgriBusiness and Food Processing
Video 0:00 - 1:31:33
(Case Studies and interactive session on Opportunities)
Theme: Strong links to markets for poor rural producers are essential to increasing agricultural production, generating economic growth in rural areas and reducing hunger and poverty. Access to finance allows small producers to undertake productive investment to expand their farming business and to acquire the latest technologies, thus ensuring their competitiveness. The session focused on how to improve knowledge for access to markets and develop market based solutions for overall agricultural development. It provided a platform to discuss overview of agriculture credit, the prevalent systems and PPP as a mechanism to foster agribusiness in Asian and African countries.

Moderator: Moderated by: Pranjal Sharma, Senior Journalist & TV Anchor

• Mr. Matsuo Takashi, Director, Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division, Asian Development Bank 
• Mr. Kevin Chan, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, Asian Development Bank 
• Mr. Neeraj Vij, Chief Investment Officer and OIC, African Development Bank 
• Mr. Prahalathan Iyer, Chief General Manager, Exim Bank of India 
• Mr. H R Dave, Chief General Manager, Corporate Planning Department, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) 
• Mr. Advait Chaturvedi, Executive Director, Overseas Infrastructure Alliance 

We have turned it green: Contract Farming in Asia & Africa
Video : 1:31:33 - 2:57:13
(Case Studies & interactive session of success stories)
Theme: Contract farming can be understood as a firm lending “inputs” — such as seed, fertilizer, credit or extension — to a farmer in exchange for exclusive purchasing rights over the specified crop. It is a form of vertical integration within agricultural commodity chains so that the firm has greater control over the production process and final product. This session will highlight the scope, benefits and apparent risks of contract farming. A glimpse into the success, learning’s and required policy interventions from the Government.
Moderator: Mr. Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

• Mr. Puneet Singh Thind, Founder and General Manager, Thind PLC 
• Mr. Siddharth Chaudhary, Managing Director, Radikal Foods Limited 
• H.E Felix Koskei, Hon’ble Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Government of Kenya 
• H.E Ibrahim Mahmud Ibrahim, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Sudan 
• Dr. Fantahun Mingistu, Director, Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research, Government of Ethiopia

Published on 12 Feb 2014 An enlightening experience during the day with numerous panel discussions that kicked off. Also, a highlight of the event at Day-3 was the esteemed presence of Ms. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs and signing of Memorandum of Understanding between FICCI and AARDO (African-Asia Rural Development Organisation).



The Way Forward for agribusiness & food processing sector 
Themes of the Session:  The potential and opportunities in Asia and Africa
Moderator: Mr Vikramjit Singh Sawhney, Corporate President, Sun Group of Industries

• Smt. Preneet Kaur, Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Government of India 
• Dr. S. Ayyappan, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) 
• Dr. William D Dar, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) 
• H.E Eng. Wassfi Hassan El-Srehin, Secretary-General, African-Asian Rural Development Organisation 

Published on 13 Feb 2014 Short interactions with delegations at Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum.