Chandigarh August 7:
If all goes as expected, sighting turbaned Sikh farmers driving around on tractors on vast farmlands will not remain confined to Africa. Several Indians, with many from Punjab could be headed for Brazil.
But for now, Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is going on an exploratory visit to Brazil at the end of this month to explore the possibilities of cooperation in the field of agriculture and allies sectors between the two nations. He will accompany a delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
The Central delegation is specifically looking at better collaboration between the two countries in the area of sugar production where Brazil has achieved high yields, reduced the cost of production and is using sugarcane waste to produce ethanol, making it the world’s largest bio-fuel producer from sugarcane. The delegation will also look at the possibility of providing Brazil with skilled agriculture farm hands.
Backed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the delegation will talk to the Brazilian Government about the possibilities of sending Indian farmers to work there. Brazil and India share many commonalities in the field of agriculture with Brazil being the world’s largest producer of sugar and India being the second highest. Brazil produces around 36 million tonnes which is expected to go up to 41 million metric tonnes in the 2010-2011. India produces around 19 million tonnes and hope these figures would touch 25 million tonnes.
Sources in the Punjab Government said earlier, Sukhbir was to leave with the delegation in the first week of August, but since many members of the delegation, including its leader Sharad Pawar, have to be return to India for the Independence Day celebrations, the trip has been postponed to the last week of August. The week-long trip is now likely to commence from August 23.
Pawar had gone to Brazil in the last week of March this year to attend the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) Agriculture Ministers meeting where they explored the possibilities of cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The current visit is a follow-up visit with a specific agenda.
The BRIC countries have formed a lobby as these not only boast to be the world’s fastest growing economies, but together command 25.9 per cent of the total geographic area. The Chinese economy is the world's fourth largest with a GDP of 3.2 trillion dollars, while Russia, Brazil and India having a GDP of over a trillion dollars each.