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The eighth meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Agriculture between India and the Netherlands was held on Friday at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary (Horticulture), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Government of India, and Guido Landheer from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Netherlands.
Both sides exchanged views on current priorities, challenges, and new initiatives in their respective agriculture sectors. The co-chairs emphasised the significance of the JWG mechanism in enhancing the longstanding cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural sector. The discussions underscored the significant contribution of the Centres of Excellence (CoEs) established under bilateral collaboration, which have demonstrated advanced agricultural technologies, facilitated the production of high-quality planting materials and seeds, and provided training to thousands of farmers. The success of this collaborative model has encouraged both sides to explore scaling up similar initiatives in more states and horticulture subsectors, benefiting a larger number of farmers. The meeting also reviewed the ongoing areas of cooperation and explored potential new avenues, including phytosanitary cooperation, the seed sector, animal husbandry and dairy, food processing, food safety, circular agriculture, greenhouse technologies, knowledge exchange, innovation, and naturally ventilated polyhouses. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the constructive and result-oriented discussions and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the agriculture and allied sectors. The Netherlands delegation included Marion van Schaik, Agriculture Counsellor; Sarah Visser Ravichandran, Senior Policy Officer; and Sritanu Chatterjee, Policy Advisor, Embassy of the Netherlands. The Indian side was represented by senior officials from the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). (ANI)
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