OMAFRA conducting first trade mission to India

Nov 14, 2016

19 delegates representing Ontario agriculture and agri-food will also attend

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

From Nov. 13 to 20, representatives from Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry will be in India as part of Ontario’s first Agri-Food Trade Mission to the country.

The mission will make stops in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigargh to showcase Ontario’s agri-technology and identify new export opportunities.

In 2015, trade between Ontario and India totalled more than $2.4 billion. The mission looks to strengthen the current relationship.

“I am confident this mission will develop new partnerships that will create jobs, accelerate trade and investment opportunities, and generate economic growth for our province,” Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of International Trade, said in a release.

With a population well over one billion people, the Ontario government sees India as an ideal export destination for food produced by the province’s farmers.

“India is an emerging market with a growing population that appreciates the safe, high quality food that Ontario grows,” Jeff Leal, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, said in a release. “Building new partnerships in priority markets like India opens doors to tremendous opportunities and is essential to growing Ontario’s economy.”

A total of 19 delegates will accompany the Ministers Chan and Leal.

The delegates include the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association, Grain Farmers of Ontario, and Greaveston Genetics.

Another delegate, the University of Guelph, said being part of the mission comes at a good time.

"The university’s goal is to build connections in agriculture and food. These might include student programs, faculty and student exchanges, research opportunities and partnerships," said Rene Van Acker, dean of the Ontario Agricultural College. "The trip is timely with the recent announcement of our Food From Thought research project, which will use high-tech information systems to help produce enough food for a growing global population while sustaining the environment."

Farms.com has reached out to other representatives to get industry’s thoughts on the importance of attending the trade mission and some of the initiatives they wish to accomplish during their stay.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.