A Dutch delegation, led by the Netherlands ambassador to India Alphonsus Stoelinga, met senior state government officials and reached a consensus on establishing the centre here.
"This will be a platform for both the governments in creating business opportunities in agriculture and work on joint projects. We will work on how Dutch knowledge can be brought in the field of agriculture in West Bengal," Anand Krishnan, deputy counsellor for agriculture, in the Netherlands embassy said here.
The Dutch government is also working to establish similar centres in Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerela.
Ambassador Stoelinga said their country could play a role in the Indian agricultural market because 35 per cent of the produce got lost in the food supply chain connenting the farmer to the consumer.
"Horticulture and agro-food sector are important for both the countries. India is a huge producer as well as a market in agriculture but the problem is in the supply chain," he said, adding that they have multiple solutions in the field.
He said they have recently come up with an incubator centre for SMEs in Delhi.
"SMEs from the two countries can collaborate together to explore business opportunities in this centre," he said, adding that SMEs will play a major role in bilateral trade in the years to come.
The Netherlands is the fifth largest investor in India and the two-way trade has grown significantly to 6.38 billion Euro currently.
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