The eighth Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on Agriculture between India and the Netherlands was held on Friday at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, to further enhance bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector.

The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary (Horticulture), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, and Mr. Guido Landheer from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.

Both sides discussed current priorities, challenges, and new initiatives in their respective agricultural sectors and reaffirmed the importance of the JWG mechanism in deepening long-standing cooperation.

The meeting highlighted the success of the Centres of Excellence (CoEs) established under the bilateral partnership, which have demonstrated advanced technologies, improved planting material and seed production, and trained thousands of farmers. Encouraged by these outcomes, both countries agreed to scale up such initiatives across more states and subsectors of horticulture.

Key areas of collaboration discussed included phytosanitary cooperation, seed sector development, animal husbandry, dairy, food processing, food safety, circular agriculture, greenhouse technologies, innovation, and knowledge exchange.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the constructive and result-oriented discussions and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and allied sectors.

The Dutch delegation included Ms. Marion van Schaik (Agriculture Counsellor), Ms. Sarah Visser Ravichandran (Senior Policy Officer), and Mr. Sritanu Chatterjee (Policy Advisor) from the Embassy of the Netherlands.

The Indian delegation comprised officials from the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).