Mr Dellings Phiri, Managing Director of the Malawian Seed Co Malawi Ltd, along with the company's Commercial Manager, Mr R. Chiwa, was busy taking down notes, receiving brochures from Indian seed, agri-input and agri-tech firms at the India-Africa Economic mission meet. They are part of a delegation that represented eight countries in Africa.
None of these delegates wants Indian investors to come there and buy land.
In the last few years, a trend had virtually emerged in most of the 54 countries in Africa that made the dark continent a happy hunting ground for rich countries and foreign companies with deep pockets to buy land, grow crops and export produce back home.
This delegation, however, is not interested in selling lands in Africa. It is interested in forging alliances and setting up units in the tiny African countries to improve productivity using better seeds, inputs and technologies.
Ask Mr Chiwa, who is in his early 30s. He replies in flawless English: “We have realised that there is no need for re-inventing the wheel. We see similarities in agro-climatic conditions between India and Malawi. So, it makes sense for us to look at what can be replicated,” Mr Chiwa told Business Line , taking time off from busy interactions with Indian agro-biotech firms here.
Mr Phiri, who represents the agricultural arm of the $200-million group, says realisation is slowly dawning on Africa on the importance of growing the native industry rather than selling land.
Ms Idit Miller, Vice-President and Managing Director of EMRC, subscribes to this view.
The Brussels-based non-governmental organisation that exclusively focuses on helping African countries forge alliances abroad for its growth. “Large tracts of land still remain untapped in Africa, particularly in the poor sub-Saharan region. Africa needs technological inputs to develop this land. India can step in and help,” she said.
EMRC is leading the five-day initiative in India, its second here. About 60 Indian companies have sent their representatives. ITC, Jain Irrigation, Nuziveedu Seeds, Vibha Seeds, Advanta, Nandan Bio and Sri Biotech are some of the companies that took part.
The African Governments too, seem to have shifted their focus to development of knowledge and manufacturing units in their respective countries. Mr Nurallah Abubakar, Executive Director in Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture, says that his country would like to build sustainable ecosystem for agriculture. “We are looking at partnerships to take back good agricultural practices,” he said.
Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are coordinating the field visits by African countries and interactions.
Mr Abdul Rahman Ilyas, Chief Operating Officer of Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) at Icrisat, says that he has plans to organise this event twice a year.