Agri-agency representatives to meet in the Netherlands

Around 100 representatives of farming organisations, young farmers, agri-agencies and multilateral institutions from all over the world will come to the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam for the event. From a young coffee farmer from Kenya or FAO programme officer from Rome to the chair of the Asian Farmers Association; they will all be there.
 

AgriCord coordinates collaboration between all agri-agencies and holds its Annual General Meeting in a different country every year. Agriterra, a Dutch member of AgriCord, is organising the event this year. 

From policy to practice
In addition to a formal AGM programme with the customary speeches, workshops and meetings, Agriterra will also provide all guests with an insight into day-to-day practice in the Dutch agricultural sector. Beyond policy and theory, participants will stay with a farmer or horticulturalist in the Rotterdam area from 15 to 16 May. They will engage in discussion with the host family and make video clips of the place they stay, creating a beautiful reportage of the Dutch agricultural sector from the perspective of a foreigner. 

European Commissioner Phil Hogan
Another important element of the programme is the discussion of Task Force Rural Africa’s consultancy report, which contains recommendations for future collaboration between the European Union and Africa. This report was an initiative of Phil Hogan, the European Commissioner for Agriculture. In a panel debate on 16 May, he will engage in discussions about employment opportunities and economic development of the African and European countryside with Carola Schouten, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and various young farmers from Africa and Europe.