Netherlands representation at SARA in Côte d’Ivoire
Last week, Dutch companies and government representatives travelled to Côte d’Ivoire for the 6th edition of the SARA (Salon international de l’Agriculture et des Resources Animales), an event bringing together stakeholders from all over the world to raise awareness on agricultural practices. With over 120 organisations from the Netherlands, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Morocco and Niger, among others, there were plenty of opportunities for new international partnerships.
Memorandum of Understandings
During the event, the Dutch Ministry of Nature, Agriculture and Food Quality signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoU). One with the Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and another with Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry for Animal and Fisheries Resources. Invest International, impact investor organisation in the Netherlands, also signed an MoU with Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Finance and Economy for 300 million euros for public infrastructure in the region.
Combi track projects
Several programmes were also launched during the event, such as 3 new combi track projects; Horticôte in Senegal, HortiNord and Orange CocoaPro for Cocoa production. Around 20 workshops sessions took place in the NL Pavilion, with the Netherlands serving as official Country of Honour of this year’s event. Topics of discussion included food sovereignty, sustainability, agro-ecology and better living income for local farmers.
The event was truly a result of wide scale collaboration between different parties. For example, Orange Corners were also present with a startup mission. With entrepreneurship high on the agenda for Dutch embassies in the region, it was an excellent chance to promote Orange Corners incubates and alumni active in active in the agricultural sector in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Morocco.
Netherlands pavilion and VR movie
And on top of all the successes of this event, the Netherlands won an award for “best pavilion” at the SARA. With the Farming the Future campaign front and centre, the Netherlands used the stand to promote working on sustainable agriculture in the region. The focus was to highlight how solutions can be translated to the local context. The launch of the Farming the Future VR movie was a great addition to showcase the Netherlands’ expertise in the field, allowing visitors to travel virtually to the Netherlands and find inspiration in sustainable agriculture.
