Germany and India need to work in tandem – Dr Hermann Schloder, Head of Division, Agri & Food Ministry, Germany
Germany keen to share its best practices with Indian farmers – German Policy Counsellor
Germany keen to partner with North Indian Companies
NewZnew (Chandigarh/Punjab/Haryana) : “Since the agriculture scenario and its related challenges and opportunities in Germany and India are so much alike, it is imperative that the two countries work in tandem, learning and sharing from each other’s experiences’, emphasized Dr Hermann Schloder, Head of Division, Trade Promotion and Quality Policy, Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture, Germany while addressing a session featuring agro business companies from Germany and India organized by Confederation of Indian Industry as part of CII Agro Tech 2014, here today.
“We are more than willing to share the research findings, our experiences, policies, latest technologies and best practices adopted back in Germany with the Indian farmers, especially in north as well, so that they can also benefit by adopting the same”, added Dr Hermann.
“One thing where India can learn from us is the Agri subsidies. This was a big challenge in Germany, which is presently the case in India as well. 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 as well and are really committed to extend full support”, highlighted Dr Hermann.
“Germany and India must to rely on each other, and develop mutual understanding for better future cooperation, which can 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.
The session also featured interactions on German Agriculture, Agricultural Machinery and their Dairy Companies with Indian counterparts who were apart of this historic moment when both countries initiated a monumental step forward towards creating long-lasting agro business association.
Mrs Ursula Holzhauser, Counsellor Food and Agriculture, German Embassy emphasised that “We in Germany are very aggressive in adopting latest technologies in agriculture since Agri 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 shared that “Indian consumer market is highly attractive globally and if we are able to integrate the supply from Germany and demand from India, the two nations can really benefit tremendously”.
Alina Gumpert, from German Asia-Pacific Business Association commented that “The presence of German companies has grown over the years in CII Agro Tech. There are so many German agro companies here 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 an industry body like CII we seek to represent their interests in the Indian economy and help them engage in new projects. Our newest initiative of ‘Potato India Field Day’ is the first step towards engaging much larger Indo-German association. By showcasing the entire process from growing to cultivation by synergizing German engineering with Indian production we seek to take the first step towards creating a value-system for the future.”
Echoing the same sentiments, Mr Rajesh Srivastava, Co-Chairman, CII Agro Tech 2014 Conferences & Chairman and Managing Director, Rabo Equity Advisors P Ltd said that “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.”