7th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development held in Nanjing

 

The 7th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development was successfully held in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on 16 June 2017. Chaired by Chinese Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu, the meeting gathered 9 delegations from the Ministries of Agriculture of the 5 BRICS countries including China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, as well as international organizations including FAO, WFP, IFAD and NDB. The meeting had in-depth discussions under the theme of “BRICS: Innovating and Sharing to Power Agriculture” and approved the outcome documents such as the Joint Declaration of the 7th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Action Plan 2017-2020 for Agricultural Cooperation of BRICS Countries, reaching broad consensus on promoting BRICS agricultural cooperation and sustainable agricultural development worldwide.
 

 

Chinese Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu delivers a keynote speech at the 7th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development in Nanjing, China on 16 June 2017.

 

Chinese Minster of Agriculture Han Changfu, Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply Blairo Maggi, South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana, Russian Deputy Minister ofAgriculture Yevgeny Gromyko and Secretary of Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare S. K. Patnaik delivered keynote speeches at the meeting. Minister Han spoke highly of the achievements of BRICS agricultural cooperation and envisioned the landscape for world agricultural development. He suggested that BRICS countries strengthen science and technology innovation, expand information sharing and boost trade and economic cooperation. He also called on the international community to work together to make agricultural trade fairer and more orderly, agricultural investment more convenient and efficient, and agricultural trade more coordinated and robust. The BRICS leaders fully agreed with the Chinese side and made their proposals for promoting BRICS agricultural cooperation and world agricultural development, vowing to deepen cooperation and seek common development among BRICS countries.

 

 

 

The meeting noted that amid the sluggish global economic recovery, BRICS countries have maintained stable agricultural production and vigorous agricultural trade, injecting new vitality and impetus into global agricultural and economic development. The meeting called for global commitment to reducing food loss and waste and boosting food production. Participants were willing to share the successful experience and model of poverty reduction. The meeting emphasized the importance of enhancing resource utilization efficiency and ecological environment protection, and urged all countries to safeguard agro-product quality and safety and pursue a sustainable development path. The meeting also mapped out five prioritized areas for further cooperation among BRICS countries in the next five years, including enhancing the capability to safeguard food security, improving the adaptability of small farmers to climate change, science and technology innovation and demonstration, agricultural trade and investment, as well as agricultural information technology application.

 

The BRICS Agricultural Cooperation Forum was held concurrently with the meeting, and was attended by over 200 representatives from the BRICS Ministries of Agriculture and the science and technology and business communities. The forum, addressed by Chinese Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu and chaired by Vice Minister Qu Dongyu, discussed the challenges and opportunities for stronger agricultural cooperation among BRICS countries. Over 20 senior officials, technology elites and famous entrepreneurs from BRICS countries and international organizations made their speeches at the forum. They shared information in a multidimensional and comprehensive way with topics covering agricultural supportive policies, science and technology innovation, as well as trade and investment, helping to lift BRICS agricultural cooperation to a new level. The forum first released the Report on BRICS Agricultural Development (2017), which gives a systematic account of the agricultural production, trade and investment situations in BRICS countries and provides detailed and essential data for those who want to start agricultural business in BRICS countries. The forum was highly appreciated by all participants as it served as an agricultural cooperation platform connecting different countries and industries.