Agro-Industries for Development

Developing competitive agro-industries is crucial for generating employment and income opportunities. It also contributes to enhancing the quality of, and the demand for, farm products. Agro-industries have the potential to provide employment for the rural population not only in farming, but also in off-farm activities such as handling, packaging, processing, transporting and marketing of food and agricultural products. There are clear indications that agro- industriesare having a significant global impact on economic development and poverty reduction, in both urban and rural communities. However, the full potential of agro-industries as an engine for economic development has not yet been real-ized in many developing countries, especially in Africa.To address these issues, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organized the first Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) in New Delhi, India, from 8 to11 April 2008. The Forum developed a shared vision on the factors critical to the future development of agro-industries, the key factors affecting their competitiveness, and potential priority action areas. The objectives of the Forum were threefold: to learn lessons from previous efforts and successes to develop competitive agro-industries in the developing world; to ensure stronger collaboration and joint activities among multi-lateral organizations working on agro-industrialization; and to clarify the distinctive roles of the public sector, multi-lateral organizations and the private sector in agro-industrial develop-ment. A related objective was to engage international organizations and finan-cial institutions into launching initiatives at national and regional levels to foster agro-industrial development