As part of the visit of President Mauricio Macri to the Netherlands, Argentina's Secretary of Agriculture, Ricardo Negri, participated in the signing of two agreements with different entities in that country.
After visiting the University of Wageningen, Negri concluded an agreement with this university to enhance technological exchange, especially in fruit growing and horticulture, and to work in value chains. "We want our regional economies to gain competitiveness," Negri said.
In addition, they signed an agreement with the Dutch health service, which is the equivalent to Argentina's Senasa, to improve the bureaucratic processes to buy and sell grains. "The simplification of the bureaucratic processes is one of our goals, not only within the country but also abroad. This agreement will facilitate the export process and the process to achieve quality certificates," he said.
The goal of the agreement with the University of Wageningen is to achieve a higher quality and productivity in the fruit and vegetable sectors, as well as improving production in greenhouses. 40 to 50% of the greenhouses in the Netherlands grow flowers.
Another topic of interest for Argentina is water management. Two-thirds of the Netherlands surface is below sea level, but the country achieves a high productivity through water management engineering. In addition, the management of the value chain allows them to access premium markets with different varieties of pears, apples, and other products.
The agreement with the Dutch health service would treat Senasa certificates as if they were certificates of the Dutch health service. This would help the merchandise that arrives to that market and then is redirected to other destinations. "It would make us more competitive and lower transaction costs," said Negri.
In turn, the Minister of Agricultural Industry in the province of Buenos Aires, Leonardo Sarquis, agreed with authorities of the University of Wageningen to work on efficiency issues related to the handling of data and alerts to prevent floods, and in horticultural and floriculture production.
The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, after the United States. Agriculture accounts for 10% of its GDP, 10% of employment, 25% of exports, and 50% of value added in exports.
Source: lanacion.com.ar