November 28, 2012

New Zealand, India to set up joint venture on agriculture, milk processing

The New Zealand government is interested in setting up joint ventures with Punjab government by offering technical know-how in the fields of agriculture and milk processing.

Leading a 22-member delegation, New Zealand Minister for Primary Industries David Carter also offered to set up joint farms in Punjab which would be pilot projects to showcase country's latest technology in farm sector. The Minister on Tuesday (Nov 27) held discussion with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in this regard, an official spokesman said here.

New Zealand minister said Punjab and his country share common expertise in agriculture sector while New Zealand can offer its latest agriculture technology and techniques to prolong shelf life of farm products.

He said that people from Punjab have a credible contribution in the development of New Zealand and out of 4.4 million population of New Zealand, over 1.2 lakh Indian pre-dominantly from Punjab are contributing in every sector of economy. He said New Zealand is focusing on increasing productivity and profitability to make the farm sector self-sustaining.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister sought technical know-how from New Zealand in milk chilling and milk processing sector. Badal said Punjab has the second largest milk cooperative in the country that was operating with the most modern technology.

He said the cooperatives of New Zealand and Punjab can work collectively to setup joint ventures in such sectors and offer latest dairy products to the world market.

Deputy Chief Minister said the state was also open to private dairy processing units of New Zealand setting up their ventures in Punjab. Meanwhile, CII Agro-Tech entered into a MoU with New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays' -- a farm show in the southern hemisphere.

Under this MoU, CII Agro Tech and Fieldays will avail reciprocal rights to attend and exhibit at each other's agri business shows, share intellectual property, hosts VIPs and delegations and promote business collaborations.

New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays' is the largest agricultural exhibition in southern hemisphere, held annually at Hamilton and this event attracts over 1.20 lakh visitors with 1000 exhibitors each year with more than 500 international visitors.