USIBC's food & agricultural executive mission to highlight shared challenges and the need to cooperate on matters of global food security.
The U.S. India Business Council launched its third annual Food & Agriculture Executive Mission to India, participating in "Food Forum India", the country's largest food and agribusiness conference. Mission Leader Paul Conway, Senior Vice President of Cargill, Inc., a Director on USIBC's prestigious Board of Directors, will present USIBC's latest publication, entitled "Advancing India's Evergreen Revolution", which highlights recommended policy interventions that will serve to advance India's quest for food and agricultural security.
"India has assumed a greater importance in the global food market. It remains amongst the largest producers and largest consumers of most agricultural goods. India and the U.S. have a lot to share and collaborate on in this space, and that can result in a mutual benefit for both of these countries," said Mr. Conway. "President Obama's visit to India last year has given the fillip to this collaboration and both he and Prime Minister Singh have set out a very ambitious yet achievable agenda for the Evergreen Revolution. I believe Food Forum India provides a very significant platform to the members of this USIBC Food and Agriculture Executive Mission to contextualize the dynamics and potential of the Indian Food Industry and the opportunities it offers to U.S. food companies. We do hope that this collaboration will also help us find lasting solutions for the challenges of food and nutrition security in India."
During a special segment at Food Forum India featuring USIBC, speakers will focus on areas where synergies are abundant: advanced technology collaboration, the means to facilitate investment in the farm-to-market supply chain, and working together to identify interventions that will ensure efficient and sustainable growth of India's food-to-fork agricultural value chain – an outcome that aims to benefit all segments of society. These policy recommendations stem from a vast record of experience acquired over decades by the global food and agricultural companies that comprise USIBC's membership, and which are participating in this year's Food and Agriculture Executive Mission to India.
Ever since November 2010, when President Obama visited India and identified agricultural trade and food security as priorities for collaboration at the top of the U.S.-India agenda, USIBC's Food & Agriculture Executive Mission delegates, representing companies from across the food supply chain, have made every effort to lay the groundwork for meetings with Government of India officials to establish ways to deepen the business sector's involvement in advancing India's food security goals. Indian counterparts from the business sector will host the USIBC delegation in Mumbai and New Delhi to chart the course of cooperation, much the way American and Indian companies did in the 1960s, to improve agricultural outcomes, increase trade and bolster investment in this vital sector.
"As India's population and economy grow, demand for high-quality, affordable food will increase exponentially. Sharing global best practices and opening markets will help create an environment that fosters greater collaboration, enabling USIBC member-companies to effectively contribute technology, technical skills, products and experience to help meet India's rising demand for high quality, affordable food," said Anku Nath, USIBC's Senior Trade Policy Director.
The U.S.-India Business Council was founded in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the U.S. Government to advance commercial ties between the world's two largest free-market democracies. USIBC is now the premier business advocacy organization representing nearly 400 U.S. and Indian companies, led by its chairman, Terry McGraw, Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
