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India’s Innovation, Technology and Agriculture Should Inspire Africa ...
EMRC Managing Director Idit Miller on the First Africa-India Economic Mission
EMRC Managing Director Idit Miller on the First Africa-India Economic Mission
By Ajong Mbapndah L
Established in 1992 by a Belgian Royal Decree, the EMRC an autonomous non profit Association has been hard at work networking and supporting private sector initiatives in Africa. With headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the EMRC’S solid network of entrepreneurs, financiers, consultants, and officials fro about a hundred countries around the world promote with impeccable zeal goal number eight of the United Nations Global Partnership For Development which focuses on Global Partnerships for Development.Though with global influence, Africa has remained a prime focus of the EMRC. The EMRC continuous to work relentlessly to market Africa to the rest of the world and draw in investors. The Africa-India Economic Mission is the latest in the series of projects and initiatives of the EMRC that put the spot light on Africa. The rags to riches evolution of India makes it a good reference for Africa as it tries to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of sustainable development. Idit Miller EMRC Managing Director says the Economic Mission will definitely provide Africans the opportunity to benefit from India’s experience in Innovation, Technology and Agriculture. Designed for an exclusive group of Management Leaders, the Mission which runs from February 28-through March 5th in Hyderabad will be a great opportunity for Africa to measure how India has used innovative approaches to beat challenges of the green revolution which still bug Africa down. Interviewed by PAV Managing Editor Ajong Mbapndah L, Idit Miller sheds more light on the Africa-India Economic Mission, the work of the EMRC and other projects that the Association is working on for Africa.
PAV: How did EMRC come up with the idea of organizing the first Economic Mission for Africa to India?
Idit Miller: EMRC’s aim is to boost the sustainable development of the African Private Sector through the growing of partnerships. We started collaborating with Indian companies 2 years ago and together with ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ),which conducts research on sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeon pea and groundnut crops and more, we decided to organize this first mission. Our thinking was that African agriculturalists could benefit from the technology and innovation that Indian agribusinesses have developed.
PAV: What do African participants stand to gain from participating in the Africa – India economic Mission?
Idit Miller: Participants will gain in expertise and know-how and will have the opportunity to update their organizational knowledge and expertise. The various field visits will provide them with the opportunity to make contact with agricultural producers and suppliers for future exchanges and partnerships.
PAV: The Economic Mission is expected to run from February 28 to March 5 and will take place in Hyderabad, anything peculiar to this area that motivated the choice?
Idit Miller:Hyderabad is home to several Centres of Excellence in biotech research and training and is amongst the few Indian cities where tradition and technology co-exist. Following recent large-scale expansion in the fields of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Agriculture and Business Management, Hyderabad is emerging as a city offering significant business opportunities.
PAV: In what particular sectors does EMRC think that Africans could draw inspiration from the economic success that India has registered over the last decades?Idit Miller: Definitely in Innovation, Technology and Agricultural Equipment.
PAV: Does EMRC have any mechanism in place to measure the impact of the mission, especially on Africa, and is this going to be a onetime event or ongoing?
Idit Miller: Post all our trade missions EMRC conducts a follow up with the participants to ensure that the mission has been fruitful for them. We also try to see how and where we can assist in the furthering of the collaborations that were set up during the mission. In terms of future missions to India, we would definitely like to continue to build on our relationship and where possible organise future and repeat events.
PAV: For how long has EMRC been involved in Africa and what would you cite as concrete examples of the impact its activities have had on the continent?
Idit Miller: We have done business with and worked in Africa for many years now and the impact we have in the continent is shown through the long-term collaborations and business partnerships within Africa and between Africa and Europe, India, USA and Middle East that are created during the Economic Missions and the 2 annual forums that we organize, namely the AgriBusiness Forum and the Africa Finance & Investment Forum.
PAV: We also learnt that Uganda will host the 2010 International Agribusiness Forum, what is the forum about and why the choice of Uganda?
Idit Miller: The Agribusiness Forum 2010 is a platform to discuss, design and plan projects and Best Practices for the sustainable development of the African Agriculture Sector. The Forum is a combination of sessions, workshops as well as business meetings. We have chosen Uganda as the host country as not only does it present excellent business incentives to attract foreign direct investment, but it also provides a great example of an agriculture-based economy with substantial natural resources and an impressive economic growth rate.
PAV: What will the theme of the forum be and how does it tie in with the development needs of Africa at this point?
Idit Miller: The Forum focuses on “Food Security: a Business Opportunity”. The World needs to produce 70% more food by 2050 and hence we will address the Food Crisis positively, as an opportunity to boost the African agro-food sector and generate business opportunities throughout the Continent.
PAV: How does EMRC envision the economic future of Africa? If you had recommendations that could help African countries be the 21st century version of the Asian tigers or help them catch up with the pace of development, in countries like India, what would that be?
Idit Miller: While we are extremely positive about the potential inherent throughout the continent and excited about the continent’s future, there is no simple solution and nor would we claim to have all the answers; however, we would like to propose the following ideas that could help to improve on agricultural development:
- Focus more on commercial large farm Agriculture,
- Invest more on Research and Industrialization,
- Improve the business environment.
Pan African Visions is grateful to you for taking the time to answer these questions.
