The trade and development minister, Mogens Jensen, has announced today that he will launch an agriculture investment fund dedicated to commercial investment in the farming sectors of developing nations – particularly in Africa.
The fund will initially consist of 40 million kroner and be unveiled by Jensen at a food product meeting in Aarhus today entitled ‘Sustainable food production for a growing world’.
“Eradicating global hunger is a big mouthful, but it can be done. Danish farmers and food producers have many solutions for creating the sustainable production of food and thus aiding hunger issues on the African continent,” Jensen said in a press release.
The goal is for Danish pension funds and private funds to contribute to the agriculture fund so that the total investment in African crops involving Danish companies will reach up to 800-900 million kroner.
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Up for the challenge
Søren Gade, the head of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council, said the Danish food product companies were ready to meet the challenge thanks to generations of built-up knowledge on the issue.
“Here at home we have been able to produce more and more without the nature, climate and environment being further compromised,” Gade said.
“It’s that kind of production that is required if we are to feed 10 billion people without destroying the globe in a few years.”
The fund will be included in the government’s new export strategy and is expected to be administered by the investment fund Investeringsfonden for Udviklingslande.
