India to host BRICS agri development meet on Sept 22-23

The Dollar Business Bureau

The sixth meeting on Agriculture and Agrarian Development of the grouping of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) begins on September 22 in New Delhi. An official level meeting will also be followed by the ministerial meeting on the next day, said a statement from the Agriculture Ministry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare will host the two-day conference. The discussions will be centred on five key areas of cooperation, mentioned in the BRICS Action Plan 2012-2016, it added.

The cooperation areas include strategy to ensure food access for the most vulnerable population, setting up of basic agricultural information exchange system, cutting down the negative impact of climate change on food security and adaptation of agriculture to climatic changes, enhancing agricultural technology cooperation and innovation, promotion of trade and investment.

The BRICS meetings’ agenda has considerably broadened over the years. It includes global issues like climate change, energy and food security, International Economic and Financial Situation, Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) etc.

Detailed talks will be held for the BRICS Agricultural Research Centre which is expected to be established in India. The centre is likely to work on agricultural science, extension of policy research and development, scientific information sharing, transfer of technology, training & capacity building. The centre is likely to serve as a forum for scholars, academicians, researchers and students for agriculture in advancement.

Agriculture is the backbone of the BRICS nations as all the nations are major producers, exporters and consumers of agricultural, meat and horticultural products. BRICS nations enjoy advantage in the field of agriculture in the form of expertise, knowledge and research capabilities and facilities. These strengths are required to be galvanised and converged in order to ensure global food security.

This year, India took the Presidency of the bloc and has been hosting various meetings in varied sectors at the official and ministerial level. The BRICS summit is slated to be held on October 15-16, 2016, in Goa.