Cooperation in agriculture sector will boost trade among BRICS nations, says expert

Sharing best practises in agriculture among the five BRICS countries can address the issue of food security, a leading Indian expert in the sector has said.


Increased cooperation in the sector will also increase trade between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the five members of the group, VS Sahney, chairperson of the BRICS agricultural business forum said.

Sahney, who attended the recently concluded 9th BRICS summit in the coastal city of Xiamen in southeastern China, said cooperation in agriculture will also positively impact climate change.

The five countries should work to harmonise “quality parameters” and “quarantine restrictions”, Sahney, chairperson of the Sun Group, said.

Agriculture was one of the highlighted issues in the Xiamen Declaration, released after the BRICS plenary session last week.

The BRICS nations’ leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of food security, trade in agricultural products and investment in this sector.

“Noting the fruitful agricultural cooperation over the past years, we recognise the unique characteristics and complementarity of BRICS countries in agricultural development and vast cooperation potential in this area,” the declaration said.

It added: “In this connection, we agree to deepen cooperation in the five priority areas such as food security and nutrition, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, agricultural technology cooperation and innovation, agricultural trade and investment.”

The BRICS member states’ heads have welcomed the “establishment of a Coordination Centre for the BRICS Agriculture Research Platform in India which should contribute to the implementation of the above-mentioned goals.”