The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, traveled to India (June 15-19) to attend the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, advance market access priorities, promote Canada's safe, high-quality agrifood and seafood products, and enhance collaboration with key global partners in the Indo-Pacific on issues such as food security, environmental sustainability, and resilient food chains.
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Outreach in Hyderabad
Minister Bibeau began her mission by meeting with representatives of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), an international, non-profit organization, to discuss innovative agricultural research in sustainability, climate change and food security. She then visited WE Hub, India's first state led-organization for women entrepreneurs, with the goal of enabling women to start, sustain and scale businesses.
Friday, June 16, 2023 - Saturday, June 17, 2023
G20 Agricultural Ministers' Meeting
On Friday, Minister Bibeau participated in the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting where she attended a plenary session and engaged in international dialogue with her counterparts on important issues impacting the agriculture sector, such as food security, sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems, and open and rules-based trade. Minister Bibeau took the opportunity to reiterate Canada's strong condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine and its consequences on global food and energy security and make clear that Canada will stand by and support Ukraine as long as it takes. The Minister then attended an expert panel discussion on the importance of including women and youth in agriculture, where she highlighted the measures that Canada has put in place to ensure a greater participation of these two segments of the population, along with Indigenous Peoples and other underrepresented groups.
At the G20, Minister Bibeau met bilaterally with her Indian counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar to discuss Canada's market access priorities and enhance agricultural cooperation between the two trading partners. Minister Bibeau also conducted a series of bilateral meetings and discussions with:
- United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey
- Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tetsuro Nomura
- Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lê Minh Hoan
- United Arab Emirates Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri
Saturday, June 17, 2023
Outreach in Hyderabad
On Saturday, Minister Bibeau joined other G20 ministerial delegates for a visit to the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) in support of the International Year of Millets. The IIMR has state of the art millet research facilities and the Minister had the opportunity to sample millet food products and learn about how these rich sources of protein and antioxidants are impacting nutrition and climate-smart agriculture in India.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Outreach in the State of Haryana
In Haryana, Minister Bibeau visited Khewra Farmers Producer Company Limited, Ag Tech start-up that is led and managed by over 700 farmers. During the visit, they discussed Canadian company Clean Seed Capital's SMART seeder technology. The company has been conducting field trials in the State of Punjab and the State of Haryana, with new seeding technology that could bring a paradigm shift to farming in India through innovation.
Minister Bibeau met also with Indian Ministers Rupala and Goyal to discuss key priorities for Canada's international agriculture trade relationships, reaffirm the importance of maintaining strong, open and predictable agricultural markets and trade, and explore areas of regulatory cooperation that will facilitate trade and foster collaboration in research and development of agricultural technologies.
Monday, June 19, 2023
