Visit to project in Argentina
From Mar 14-17, 2023, Erik Schneider, advisor at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and responsible for international projects in Latin America and Africa, Sabeth Bayer, project manager at GFA Consulting Group GmbH (GFA), and Sven Gehlhaar, Managing Director of IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (IAK), travelled to Argentina to find out about progress in the project "German-Argentine Dialogue on Sustainable Agricultural Innovations" and to explore future project topics.
In Argentina, the German delegation was accompanied by the project team as well as by representatives of the German Embassy in Argentina, the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca (SAGyP) and the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA).
Important stops on the trip were visits to the SAGyP and to some of INTA's institutes. Above all, the project wants to further intensify the cooperation with INTA in the coming months. Therefore, the delegation was very pleased to also be able to talk to Carlos Parera, Director of INTA, and Nacira Muñoz, Vice President of INTA.
At the company Rizobacter in Pergamino (Province of Buenos Aires), the delegation was able to get an idea of the current status in various areas of biotechnology.
The visit to an Argentine farmer who cultivates 1,000 ha was also informative for all participants. The delegation talked to him about the new challenges that climate change is bringing to many regions of Argentina, such as an extreme drought that has been going on for about three years, forcing local actors to completely rethink how they plan and implement their agricultural activities.
The travel programme was rounded off by a joint networking event with representatives of important argentine NGOs, where climate change and the reorientation of agriculture were discussed. Highly topical issues for the argentine partners also include the challenges posed by the German Supply Chain Act and the uncertainties surrounding the forthcoming EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains.
At the end of the trip, SAGyP, INTA, BMEL, GFA and IAK discussed and agreed on the work plan for 2023 in the PSG meeting.