Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA). Prabhu, a former Commerce & Industry Minister, has served on several UN bodies and as India’s Sherpa for G-7 and G-20 countries, and has also been a board member of the World Agriculture Forum (WAF).
He was nominated as Chairman by 24 members of the newly-constituted ICFA Board. His team at ICFA features Dr Tarun Shridhar (Former Union Secretary) as DG, Dr Ashok Dalwai (Chairman, PM Task Force on DFI) as Co- chair, Dr Meenesh Shah (Chairman, NDDB) and Simon Wiebusch (MD, Bayer Crop Science), as Vice Chairs.
Prabhu’s extensive experience in the global arena, he is expected to expand ICFA’s global presence through collaborations and partnerships as well as to lead ICFA in its mission to promote agro trade, technology and investments in agriculture sector.
It is important to mention here that it was under his leadership that India’s first Agri Exports Policy was launched in 2018 which resulted in unprecedented growth of agriculture exports.
His main challenge will be to create a more resilient food system in India that goes a long way to build a robust ecosystem for all stakeholders, especially farmers in the country. Even Prabhu mentioned about it in his address.
