Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, now visiting Johannesburg, has proposed a contract farming project in South Africa involving Bangladeshi agriculture entrepreneurs.
He proposed a meeting with the South African Minister for Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development Angela Thoko Didiza at her office on Monday, a foreign ministry press release said.
During the meeting, Dr Momen proposed that cooperation between the two countries in different segments of agriculture, including fisheries and livestock, as well as institutional cooperation, would engender a win-win situation for both nations.
Taking into account the plenty of unutilized land in South Africa, joint venture agricultural projects may be set up by both countries, he observed.
With the knowledge and expertise of Bangladesh entrepreneurs and land of the South African side, contract farming projects may be initiated, the Bangladesh foreign minister proposed.
Momen also proposed to the South African side for the establishment of a center on agricultural cooperation in South Africa which may be named as Bangabandhu-Mandela Agricultural Research Centre.
The Agricultural Minister of South Africa stated that both sides may assign agricultural experts to discuss the projects.
Thoko suggested that both countries may cooperate on environmental issues, forests, fisheries, land reforms, and other areas.
The South African minister enquired to know how microcredit is helping the agricultural sector in Bangladesh.
The foreign minister informed her that the Bangladesh government has dedicated organizations that extend financial assistance to the farmers.
He proposed that a delegation of experts and officials of the agricultural sector may visit Bangladesh from South Africa to observe the agricultural activities in Bangladesh.
He also suggested that there may be joint ventures in sectors like readymade garments, ICT, and pharmaceuticals to expand the relations.
She suggested that technical teams may be formed to cooperate in the areas like microcredit, market excess, trade, skill development, and digitalization in agriculture areas.
She also suggested the conclusion of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the agricultural area in near future and establishing contacts between Agricultural Councils of the two countries to promote the overall agricultural relations.
