Minister Alan Winde calls for cooperation with Dutch Agro food industry
During an open interactive discussion at the Embassy of South Africa on 7 June 2013 with Dutch agro food suppliers, Mr Alan Winde (Minister of Economic Development, Finance and Tourism of the Western Cape) presented the challenges in South Africa and the southern African continent:
‘Economic development in these countries are among the highest worldwide. To keep up, local food production chains need to be modernized. Also water and energy related challenges need to be addressed. Last but not least, the sector will increasingly be affected by global competition. Agriculture remains the main sector in South Africa, but is faced with instability. What we need is to understand the whole supply chain.’ – Minister Alan Winde
SANEC and NAFTC jointly launched the NAFTC Africa initiative. The main driver of the NAFTC approach is to position Dutch know-how on food production in southern African markets, by local presence. By building consortia of chain partners, the Dutch sector can collectively approach these opportunities. Additionally individual support is provided, trade missions and fairs are organized, and solution provided by Dutch chains partners (dairy, potato, fruit & vegetables, meat, etc.) is marketed.
SANEC and NAFTC invite all companies from the Agro food, Water and Horticulture sector with an interest in southern Africa to co-design these strategic programmers. Please indicate your interest to [email protected].