Canada will participate at the Agro & Food Tech 2020 virtual event taking place between October 16 to 22, to explore collaboration opportunities with Indian businesses. Members of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service will be present online at the virtual Canada booth to facilitate business interactions between leading Canadian and Indian companies.
Canada and India enjoy a mutually beneficial trade relationship in the agriculture sector to the tune of CAD1.6 billion annually. The Canada-India bilateral trade relationship is focused on a variety of commodities including grains, pulses, tea, coffee, spices and seafood. Canada’s focus on innovation and strong regional expertise are providing cutting-edge answers to the world’s agricultural needs through novel technologies that are revolutionising one of the largest and oldest global sectors.
High Commissioner of Canada to India, Nadir Patel said, “Canada is globally recognised for its excellence in Agtech. We are the fifth-largest agricultural exporter in the world with $56 billion in sales. This is a great opportunity for Canadian companies to learn about the exciting developments and plans for transformation in India’s Agtech industries. Key areas of interest include farm management platforms, crop protection, irrigation, water management, post-harvest, movement of goods from farm to consumer, pest management, remote sensing, the Internet of Things, machinery and robotics. I look forward to further collaboration and new synergies from the first-ever Virtual CII Agro & Food Tech: India International Food & Agri Week 2020”.
The Government of Canada, through the High Commission of Canada in India and additional trade offices across India, is undertaking several AgTech initiatives in India. For example:
- In February of this year, the High Commission hosted a trade delegation to India to promote technology partnerships in agriculture and agricultural supply chains. Four Canadian companies visited Mumbai and Bangalore to meet with potential Indian research and development partners. This initiative was part of the Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP) that supports industrial R&D collaborations between Canadian SMEs and companies in key markets, including India.
- On October 6 and 7, 2020, the High Commission collaborated with the Economic Diplomacy section of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC) holding webinars featuring expert discussions on nutritional security, protein consumption, sustainable farming practices and cold storage logistics, amongst other agriculture-related topics.
