88

News

New Danish Agribusiness Fund combines private and public investment

TheCopenhagenPost
January 8th, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

The goal is to improve food production in developing countries using Danish technology and know-how

The Danish agricultural industry may be experiencing hard times domestically, but a new initiative intends to increase the export of Danish agricultural technology and know-how for the benefit of developing countries.

The Foreign Ministry and the pension funds PensionDanmark and PKA are investing 700 million kroner in the new Danish Agribusiness Fund.

READ MORE: Business news in brief: Most farming bankruptcies in 20 years

Exporting Danish efficiency
Kristian Jensen, the foreign minister, explained that the project will combine furthering Danish commercial interests and development goals.

“Danish agricultural and food companies are among the most efficient in the world. Consequently, these companies can help to increase the production of much-needed food in developing countries,” he said.

“However, there is a need for risk capital if the potential is to be realised. That is exactly what the new fund will contribute to. Accordingly, this initiative is in line with the global UN goal to increase private investment in the agricultural and food sector in developing countries.”

The 700 million kroner of investments comes from development aid (88 million kroner), the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (212 million kroner) and from PensionDanmark and PKA (200 million kroner each).

The expectation is that the funds will generate investments of nearly 6 billion kroner in improving production, distribution and food sales in developing countries.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”