Global Agri-Food Forum

2008
National Agricultural Council
“Agriculture Vision 2020: Competitive, Sustainable and Socially Responsible”

Date: June 12-13, 2008

Place: Centro Banamex, Mexico City

GENERAL PROGRAM

THURSDAY, JUNE 12TH

8:00 – 8:45 Registration

8:45 – 9:45 Opening Ceremony

Jaime H. Yesaki Cavazos

President, Nacional Agricultural Council

Armando Paredes Arroyo Loza

President, Entrepreneurial Coordinator Council

9:45 – 10:30 Plenary Masterful Conference

“The World in the Year 2020”

A prospective analysis will be presented based on technological

advances, and the social and demographic changes that are taking
place, to provide insight into significant aspects of society and their
implications for agriculture.

Timothy C. Mack
President, World Future Society

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee Break

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10: 45 – 12:30 Panel I. The Global Agricultural Markets in the Next Decade.

Looking towards 2020, this panel will analyze in particular how

agricultural markets have been evolving and how they are expected
to evolve in the future, focusing on the challenges and opportunities
that the different actors along the agricultural value chains will face.

Merritt Cluff
Senior Economist, Commodities, FAO Rome

Anita Regmi
Senior Economist, USDA-ERS, USA

Klaus Frohberg
Professor, University of Bonn, Germany

Moderator
José de Jesús Brambila Paz
Professor-Researcher, Colegio de Postgraduados

12:30 – 12:45 Coffee Break

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12:45 – 14:30 Panel II: What is the market now demanding of agriculture?

The market is constantly imposing new and more stringent

requirements for the food they eat. This panel will review the current
requirements, which are frequently stricter than official standards,
and discuss the impact of these requirements on competitiveness and
sustainability of agribusiness.

Michael A. Bourlakis
Senior Lecturer, Brunel University, Business School, UK

Richard Greubel
Group Vicepresident and International President, Tyson Foods, USA

Eduardo Baamonde Noche

Director General, Confederation of Agrarian Cooperatives, Spain

Moderator
José Gaitán Gámez
Director, Agribusiness Center, ITESM

14:30 – 14:50 Thematic Conference

“Products and finance schemes to promote an agriculture
competitive, sustainable and socially responsible”
Rodrigo Alfonso Sánchez Mújica
Director General, FIRA - Banco de México

15:00 – 16:30 Lunch

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16:45 – 18:30 Panel III: Structuring a competitive food and agricultural industry

This panel will explore how those countries which will be the
leaders in the next decade are looking at and structuring their food
and agriculture sectors. Particular emphasis will be placed on those
actions by both government and the private sector that are being
implemented to facilitate the agribusiness to maintain and enhance
competiveness to meet future requirements of their domestic and
external markets, while remaining social and ecologically
responsible.

Suresh Pal
Principal Scientist, National Center for Agricultural Policy, India

Edilson Guimaraes
Secretary of Agricultural Policy, Brazil

Gustavo López
Agritrend, Argentina

Moderator
Antonio Yúnez Naude
Professor-Researcher, Econimic Studies Center, El Colegio de
Mexico

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2008

FRIDAY, JUNE 13TH

9:00 – 11:00 Panel IV: New strategies and tools to meet the future requirements
of the markets

To be competitive new strategies and tools are required (e.g.

agricultural policies, financing, technology, certification,
organization, etc.). This panel will identify these strategies and tools
and the role that they must play in the future to facilitate producers
and food processors to compete in a marketplace defined by the new
and stringent demands placed upon them, including the social
entrepreneurial responsibility. The role and responsibility of the
private sector in the development of these new tools will also be
discussed.

Tamara A. White
Secretary/Treasurer, International Food and Agricultural Trade
Policy Council, USA.

Carlos Seggiaro
Specialist, NGO Fortalecer Foundation, Argentina

Roberto Delgado Gallart

Director, Latin-American Center for Social Responsibility, Anáhuac
University

Moderator
Kenneth Shwedel
Rabobank México

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break

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11:30 – 13:30 Panel V: Successful cases meeting the new market demands

Experiences from producer organizations and companies from

different countries will be discussed in which they are successfully
competing in a market environment that puts emphasis, not only on
price and quality, but also on sustainability and social responsibility.
It will be identified by specialists and managers from producer
organizations and companies, what have been the key success
factors, such as marketing, financing, technology and contract
farming, among others schemes for organizing farmers and
integrating them into value networks.

Sukhpal Singh
Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India

Armando Mirandé Garmendia

Director for Poultry Operations and Ingredients, Tyson de México

Pedro Naudín (President) and/or Luis Navarro (Director General)

ARENTO Cooperative Group, Aragón, Spain

Jaime Tola Cevallos

Director of Researching, INIAP Ecuador

Moderator
Roberto Félix Carvallo Garnica
Director of Sectoral Competitive Intelligence, FOCIR

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13:30 – 13:50 Thematic Conference

“The role of financing in agriculture looking ahead to year 2020”
Enrique de la Madrid Cordero
Director General, Financiera Rural

14:00 – 15:45 Lunch

16:00 – 17:45 Panel VI: México: What strategies should be implemented to have
a competitive, sustainable and socially responsible agriculture in
2020?

Based on what was presented during the Forum, this panel will
identify some of the possible strategies and policies that both the
public and private sectors in Mexico should put into practice to
strengthen the role of agriculture as a key development factor for the
country, under the criteria of competitiveness and sustainability.

Luis Gómez Oliver

Expert in Agricultural Policies for Latinamerican and Caribbean,
UNAM

Manuel Zertuche Guerra

Director, Biotechnology and Foods Division, ITESM

Ronald Knutson
Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University, USA

Moderator
Manuel Molano Ruiz
Adjunct Director, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness

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17:45 – 18:05 Closing Remarks by Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez
Secretary of Agriculture (SAGARPA)

18:05 – 18:30 Coffee Break

18:30 – 19:30 Closing cocktail with the participation of Armando Fuentes

Aguirre (CATON)