Francois Baird, founder of the FairPlay Movement, met with Erik Schneider, Head of Agriculture at the German Embassy this week to discuss amongst other things, the challenges and opportunities of the South African sugar and poultry industries with an eye on the Cotonou negotiations that will take place in September.
The meeting with the Embassy follows on comments made earlier this year by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Europe’s trade agreements with African nations are “skewed” and “not right” Germany’s chief Africa envoy Gunter Nooke has elaborated much further noting during an interview with German media that trade agreements between the EU and African states “are no success stories neither for Africa nor for Europe” and that they are “neither a partnership nor an agreement.”
Amongst EU countries, Germany leads in recognizing the plight of the poultry industry in particular and the need to align European international development policy with the UN’s Social Development Goals.
Left to right: Lionel Adendorf, Francois Baird (Founder of FairPlay) Erik Schneider (Head of Agriculture at the German Embassy) and Maximilian Berger ( Executive Officer in the Division for Agricultural Affairs) at the German Embassy.
