U.S., India agriculture heads meet

U.S., India agriculture heads meet    U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar met Wednesday to discuss bilateral trade issues and areas of cooperation and progress in the ongoing partnership of the U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative.
   “India and the United States share a strong commitment to democratic principles,” Johanns said in a statement. “Strengthening our partnership will benefit the economic, strategic and agricultural interests of both our countries for many years to come, as India assumes an increasingly important leadership role across Asia in the 21st century.”
   During their visit, Johanns and Minister Pawar also spoke to members of the U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative board at their third meeting.
   “I am confident that the Agricultural Knowledge Initiative will contribute tremendously to launching the second green revolution in our country,” Pawar said. “Our objective is to bring about a transformation in our rural economy by making agriculture a sustainable and profitable adventure, especially for our tropical, arid and dryland areas.”
   The U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative, which was created in November 2005 to revitalize agricultural collaboration between the two countries, focuses on university capacity building, food processing and marketing, biotechnology and water management.