Iowa Gov. Reynolds says 10-day trade trip to India already bearing fruit

DES MOINES — Iowa is already seeing the fruits of a recent 10-day trade trip to India, with hopes of more results to come soon, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and other state leaders said Wednesday.

Iowa’s agriculture industry is well-placed to help feed a rapidly growing population in India, and those potential partnerships made the trade trip a worthwhile venture, Reynolds and others said during a news conference at the Iowa Capitol.

“I’m absolutely confident the new and long-standing opportunities brought about by this mission trip will ultimately mean greater business development and community investment prospects for Iowa and India as well,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Reynolds, Durham, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig plus 14 Iowa business leaders comprised the delegation that went on the 10-day trade trip that, including travel, spanned Sept. 10 to Sept. 20.

The cost of the trip is not yet calculated, but the costs will primarily be covered by delegates’ fees, a spokesman for the governor’s office said.

India’s population has grown by more than 1 billion since 1950, and in April of 2023 India, with nearly 1.5 billion people, surpassed China as the most populous country in the world.

That kind of population growth creates the kind of needs that Iowa can help fill, state officials said, citing biofuels and food products like pork, turkey and eggs as examples.

“India’s increasing demand for clean energy sources like biofuels — ethanol especially — and sustainable aviation fuel, as well as livestock feed demand … but also high quality protein, pork and beef, turkey, eggs, soybean — this all aligns really well, in fact seamlessly, with what the Iowa farmer can supply,” Naig said.

“The possibilities to partner together, to strengthen those connections, to build long-term business and research opportunities really are exciting, especially as India looks to solve some of their nutrition, security and protein consumption demands,” Naig said.

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During the trip, the Iowa delegation met with Indian leaders, including the country’s ministers for food processing, commerce, agriculture, and women and child development.

Reynolds delivered the keynote address at the U.S. India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit and spoke with the council’s board; hosted business summits in Delhi and Mumbai; and participated in roundtable discussions with the Confederation of Indian Industry, United States Grains Council, U.S. Soybean Export Council and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

During the trip, memorandums of understanding were signed with the Compound Feed Manufacturers Association, Confederation of Indian Industry, and The Energies and Resources Institute.

PowerPollen, an Iowa-based agribusiness, signed a letter of intent with VNR Seed of India. The company specializes in boosting crop production by improving pollination.

Reynolds said there have been preliminary discussions about a reciprocal trip from an Indian trade delegation to Iowa, which she said she hoped could coincide with the World Food Prize, which is hosted annually in Des Moines.

“It’s hard to really overstate the potential long-term impact of the Indian market on our farm families and our state,” Reynolds said. “India can be an ideal partner for us for decades to come.”

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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