|
The
first Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) will be
organised in New Delhi from 8 to 11 April 2008. The Union
Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution Shri Sharad Pawar and the Director General,
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
, Dr Jacques Diouf jointly issued the first announcement
of the conference in New Delhi on the 8th of August. The
Indian government, FAO and the United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (UNIDO) are jointly organising
the conference.
Shri Pawar described the organisation of the conference as
a timely initiative and expressed hope that the role of
agro-industries in enhancing productivity and
profitability in agriculture, employment generation and
poverty alleviation, especially in developing countries
would receive requisite attention.
Dr Diouf, who is presently on a three-day visit to India,
stated that hosting this global event in New Delhi is a
testimony to India’s central place in the world
agricultural scenario and that it will further strengthen
FAO’s and UNIDO’s engagement with the country.
A key challenge is to develop agro-industries and
associated enterprises that are inclusive of smaller scale
producers and processors and that also deliver better
products at lower prices thus directly helping poor
consumers.
While high-income countries add, on average, US$180 of
value by processing one tonne of agricultural products,
developing countries generate only US$40 of value per
tonne.
“We are very pleased to be working alongside FAO and UNIDO
to host this Global Forum in India,” said Dr Mangala Rai,
Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research & Education
and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research. “We are committed to supporting the development
of competitive but fair agro-industries and look forward
to discussing experiences and strategies with participants
from around the world.”
The Global Agro-Industries Forum will promote dialogue on
strategies for developing competitive agro-industries that
contribute to poverty reduction. It will thus build on
success stories and winning strategies to develop
competitive agro-industries in the developing world that
include small-scale farmers and reinforce collaboration
among all stakeholders from local to global levels, as
well as public and private sectors.
“Rapid globalization, market liberalization, and
urbanization have created new opportunities for increased
trade in agricultural and food products in national,
regional and international markets, but they have also
created challenges and increased risks,” explains Dr.
Daniel Gustafson, FAO Representative in India.
The Global Forum will bring together 500 senior
representatives from ministries of agriculture and of
industries, other UN agencies, and civil society
organizations as well as agro-industry specialists and
private sector food industry leaders.
Following the Forum, FAO and UNIDO will launch a series of
concrete actions at regional and national levels,
including a series of regional agro-industry Fora, to
strengthen expertise and capacity for establishing
enabling policies, institutions and services, and will
technically support the development of competitive
agro-industries and value chains in conjunction with
regional and national partners.
“The Forum is a concrete example of the partnership being
established between UNIDO and FAO to address the key
factors critical to the future of agro-industries
development”, notes Dr. Philippe Scholtes, UNIDO
Representative in India.
Further information on the Forum will soon be available on
the dedicated website: www.gaif08.org
|
