Mark Douglas president and chief executive officer of FMC Corporation emphasised the need for faster, more efficient registration and regulatory processes to ensure food security.
Mark Douglas, president and chief executive officer of FMC Corporation, met honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India – U.S. Innovation Handshake, the technology roundtable hosted at the White House in Washington D.C. on Friday as part of the Prime Minister’s four-day state visit to the U.S.
The event was organized to discuss technology areas of mutual interest and collaboration between the two countries, and roundtable guests included CEOs from leading U.S. and India companies. FMC was the only agriculture-focused company to attend the roundtable with Prime Minister Modi and President Biden.
During the event, participants discussed innovation opportunities in a shared technology ecosystem across varied sectors. Douglas shared perspectives from the crop protection industry, commenting how technology is already driving innovations in the sector, from digital and precision agriculture tools to drones and the discovery of new molecules. These have led to more effective, efficient and sustainable methods to protect crops and increase food production. He also emphasized the need for a more efficient regulatory and registration system, to ensure farmers across India, the U.S. and around the world have faster access to the most advanced crop protection technologies.
“Agriculture has been and continues to be a beneficiary of technological advances from other industries. Technology integration is the key towards advancing agriculture with sustainability and safety at the forefront for farmers in India and around the world. This roundtable offered a platform for us to bring together governments and companies through cooperation and exchange of knowledge,” said Douglas. “India is one of the top three markets for FMC globally. With the swift evolution of the agritech industry across the globe, it is pertinent and crucial for the Indian agriculture ecosystem to be more adaptive, and for policymakers to consider how best to enhance the efficiency of agrochemicals’ regulatory and registration systems. This will support agricultural companies like FMC to quickly bring to market the latest, more sustainable technologies such as microbial and sprayable pheromones to Indian farmers, resulting in more resilient food systems and food security for today and tomorrow.”
As the Indian government continues to take strides towards modernization of the agriculture industry, FMC has made clear its continuing commitment to the country and its progress, just as it has done for more than three decades.
Douglas added, “It was an honour to participate in this historic meeting, and to serve as the voice of the agricultural industry. We are grateful to President Biden, Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, Secretary Kwatra, National Security Advisor Doval, Secretary Singh, Ambassador Sandhu and the Governments of India and the U.S. for FMC’s invitation.”
