The launch marks a significant step toward a shared vision of food security, sustainable agriculture, and inclusive rural development between India and Africa In a major push to strengthen India–Africa…

The launch marks a significant step toward a shared vision of food security, sustainable agriculture, and inclusive rural development between India and Africa

In a major push to strengthen India–Africa agricultural cooperation, the India–Africa Agricultural Business Forum (IABF) was launched today at a high-level Roundtable in New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, financial institutions, and development partners from both regions.

The Forum was jointly launched by the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) and Empowering Farmers Foundation (EFF), with support from Export Trading Group (ETG) and African-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO). Key participants included Diplomats from the Embassy of Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Benin, Tanzania, Sudan, etc., and representatives from APEDA (Dr Tarun Bajaj), NABARD (Nabin Roy), IFFCO (Dr Yogendra Kumar), and the World Bank, highlighting the initiative’s strategic significance.

The IABF aims to accelerate agribusiness collaboration through trade, investment, technology transfer, and farmer capacity building, leveraging India’s proven agricultural models and Africa’s growth potential.

Mahesh Patel, Chairman, ETG, emphasised that Africa needs urgent agricultural transformation, noting that India’s Green and White Revolution models can be adapted to improve productivity. He highlighted the importance of seeds, fertilisers, climate-resilient practices, and digital agriculture, while stressing that strong India–Africa market linkages can unlock long-term capital flows. The Forum is expected to facilitate 10+ agribusiness partnerships.

Discussions also underscored global challenges such as pandemics and geopolitical disruptions impacting food security, reinforcing the need for resilient systems, investment, and modernisation. Stakeholders called for collaboration in controlled environment agriculture, bio-farming, and agri-biotechnology to drive sustainable growth.

The Forum aims to impact over 50,000 farmers through partnerships and pilot projects, while strengthening bilateral trade and investment.

The launch marks a significant step toward a shared vision of food security, sustainable agriculture, and inclusive rural development between India and Africa.