Berlin, Sep 16 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday sought support of the German Agribusiness Alliance for sustainable development of the agri-food sector to benefit farmers in the state.

German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) is a business initiative of leading associations and companies in the agri-food sector.

Mann said that the expertise of alliance and its member companies include BASF, Bayer, BayWA, CLAAS, John Deere, VDMA, Covestro, GIZ, ECOCERT Group and EKOSEM-AGRAR could be very useful for the food growers in the state.

During deliberations, the Chief Minister envisaged opportunities for mutual collaboration in business and solutions. He said that the alliance could provide on-field handholding to Punjab farmers in best practices of crop management.

Inviting Germany Agribusinesses to the state, Mann said that the Green Revolution led by Punjab has not only made India self-sufficient in agri production but also a world leader in various commodities.

The Chief Minister added that the state is a leader in cereal production and one of the largest milk producers in India and has state-of-the-art export facilities. He said that the strong infrastructure of the state has made it the preferred investment destination for leading MNCs like Nestle, Danone, Pepsico, Coca Cola, Unilever and Godrej.

The Chief Minister has also asked leading German company Verbio group to explore future collaboration opportunities with the state in the renewable energy sector.

The Chief Minister further said that the Verbio Group has strong association with state as its Indian subsidiary, Verbio India Private Ltd. has recently commissioned one of the largest biofuel (biomethane/bio-CNG) production units in India with 33 TPD (tons per day) of capacity in Sangrur.

He said that the plant will produce biogas by anaerobic digestion process and is a great way to solve the problem of stubble burning.