Toespraak van staatssecretaris Dijksma

Toespraak | 04-06-2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

On the surface, India and the Netherlands couldn’t differ more. India is nearly 80 times larger than the Netherlands, and its population over 70 times bigger. More people live in metropolitan Delhi than in all of the Netherlands.

When you look more closely, however, we do have many things in common. We both have a high population density. In both our countries, agriculture is a crucial sector for economic growth. A third common factor is cows, which are very much part of the landscape in both India and the Netherlands. And that’s where we have a mutual interest.

The Netherlands is impressed by India’s economic growth and ambitions. Especially in the area of agriculture. For example, the projected increase in milk production over the next two years is equal to our total annual production.

But our small country still has something to offer the world, and India in particular.

By 2050, the world’s population will have grown to nine billion. People are living longer, and they're more prosperous too. To meet their needs, global food production must increase by 70 per cent. So, in the coming decades we’re going to have to grow more food than we did over the past 10,000 years. But we need to do so with less pressure on the environment, and use less finite natural resources.

As Gandhi said: 'Our salvation can only come through the farmer.' The Indian agriculture sector has enormous potential. But it needs to boost production and reduce waste. And that's where the Netherlands could play a part.

With so little land, we’re always looking for more efficient production methods. In the Netherlands, we have a longstanding tradition of farmers and other businesses, knowledge institutions and government working closely together. That cooperation results in new knowledge and technology. Like milking robots, irrigation systems, energy-producing greenhouses, and disease- and drought-resistant plant varieties.

All this has resulted in higher production. There is no country on Earth with such a high agricultural output per hectare as the Netherlands. We grow far more than we can eat, so we export three-quarters of our agricultural produce. In order to ship our dairy products to China and our pears to Brasil, we had to think about cold storage. And we developed an outstanding food distribution system.

We can put this knowledge to good use in India, where food losses in the supply chain – from harvest through all the stages of trade – are as high as 30 to 40 per cent. And that isn’t something that only happens in India, it’s a global issue. That’s why the Netherlands, together with the FAO, will be hosting an international conference about food losses, in two weeks' time.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good cooling methods will also open up enormous export opportunities. India produces nearly half of the world’s mangos. At present mangos are only available during the four-month mango season. With better storage systems, people around the world could eat delicious Indian mangos most months of the year.

Fastfood chains, retailers, processors, logistics companies and exporters… they all stand to gain from better cold storage systems. Connecting these big players with the dense network of middlemen, all the way to the primary producer: that’s the challenge facing India. A challenge that Prime Minister Modi’s government has identified as a priority.

The Netherlands is glad to share knowledge and technology in this area under the Joint Agricultural Action Plan agreed in 2012. This morning, my colleague minister Singh and I extended the agreement by another three years.

We will continue the process of setting up ten centres of excellence, focused on knowledge transfer: Dutch knowledge, adapted to conditions in India. Four centres, specialising in horticulture, will open this year. Centres of excellence for other branches of agriculture will be established in due course.

Your government’s programme 'Make in India' aims to boost foreign investment. That’s great, because Dutch companies are keen to sign up. We want to ‘make in India’. And by sharing knowledge it will be easier to ‘make’ agricultural products in India.

Of course, it’s not as simple as that. A company needs to have a certain market share before it can invest responsibly. It invests because it wants to be closer to its customers. But high import tariffs often prevent companies from gaining a larger share of the market. To facilitate investment, you also need to facilitate trade. I believe 'Make in India' will be even more successful if it’s combined with 'Trade with India'. So I’m delighted that, this morning – after years of negotiations – my colleague and I reached agreement on market access for Dutch apples and pears. To me, that news is just as sweet as the taste of our apples and pears!

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Netherlands wants to help 'Make in India' succeed. By offering you our knowledge and technology, and the products and services of the Dutch companies here today.

Thank you.