India and Russia to strengthen cooperation in agriculture

Representatives from business associations scientific institutions, and government agencies in Russia and India have agreed to deepen relations in agriculture while preparing for the third round of IRSED(the India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue), scheduled for the end of April 2021.

On March 10, the National Dairy Producers Union of Russia (SOYUZMOLOKO) and the Ministry of Agriculture Farmers' Welfare of India held a video conference meeting of the IRSED Coordination Committee on the agriculture and agro-processing sectors.

Participants discussed the use of the Internet of Things (loT) in agriculture, restoration and preservation of soil fertility, as well as trade in agricultural products.

Smart Farming hardware and software platform for bovine cattle monitoring was introduced by the Russian side. The technology is based on loT and increases the efficiency of dairy farm management by providing better control over animal health and reproduction The product was presented by Michael Kozlov, head of the M2M/loT at PJSC "MTS."

Shri Vijay Rajmohan, director (IT) at the DAC&FW of India, admitted with several start-ups working in close cooperation with national and foreign companies on the practical application of loT technologies agriculture, the government has already initiated a series of loT pilots around the country. The sides decided to continue the exchange of information on technological advances and help to find business institutions interested in a pilot project of Smart Farming.

While discussing trade issues, the parties exchanged information on the current phytosanitary and veterinary requirements and spoke about the corresponding market access procedures. The participants noted the potential for increasing trade in soft drinks, crop production, and animal husbandry.

The parties agreed to continue discussions on obtaining access to the markets during the existing G2G platforms, as well as to inform the national businesses about existing import opportunities.

Artyom Belov, the Russian co-chair of the committee and general director at SOYUZMOLOKO, said the event furthered the advancement on all agenda items and met the set objectives.

"Primarily, the participants managed to successfully establish international contacts," Belov said.

"Then we agreed to continue cooperation on the most promising strategic aspects of Russia and India and global cooperation in agriculture-the introduction of IT and modern advances in environment protection. Moreover, a better understanding of issues in regard to bilateral trade was achieved. I consider it a good start for further work with Indian colleagues at IRSED platform.

The IRSED was established following a bilateral memorandum of understanding signed between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of economic development of the Russian Federation during the 19th annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held in October 2018, in New Delhi.

The third round of IRSED covers six core areas: transport infrastructure, agricultural and food processing development, SME support, digital transformati, industrial cooperation, and tourism.