TIFTON, GA (WALB) -
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black is working to expand the market for Georgia Ag products globally. Commissioner Black took the Gabonese Republic's ambassador to the U.S. on an Agricultural Tour of Southwest Georgia today.
The purpose is to introduce the African Country to Georgia Agriculture so the two countries can work together. Commissioner Black took the Ambassador all over South Georgia, exposing him to what our state has to offer. They toured the Sunbelt Expo grounds, Southern Valley Fruits and Vegetables, ABAC and UGA Tifton Campus.
Commissioner Black and Gabon Ambassador Michael Moussa- Adamo share muscadine grapes in Tifton today. It is an effort to form a partnership between Georgia and Gabon.
"It is a good thing to share technology, share some educational opportunities for their students coming here, our students going there, but also an opportunity to open trade," says Gary Black, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner.
Commissioner Black took Ambassador Adamo all over South Georgia to show him what our state has to offer.
"When developing an agricultural economy, we have many manufacturers, many of that expertise that is here in Georgia, and hopefully just build those economic bonds, that could bode well for both of our economies," says Black.
Ambassador Adamo was looking forward to learning how Gabon can benefit from Georgia's experience with agriculture.
"I am from a country that imports 85% to 90% of all it's food, and I think that we can learn a lot from Georgia, and Georgia can assist us in developing our agriculture," says Michael Moussa-Adamo, Ambassador of the Gabonese Republic to the U.S.
He says Georgia is critical in helping Gabon develop their agriculture, saving the country money while providing healthier food options to the people of Gabon.
"It is a lot of capital that we are spending that is going out of the country to buy food, we have a lot of disease in Africa because we don't control the source of the food that is coming in," says Adamo.
He says the goal is to import less food, and grow more of their own.
The ambassador hopes Georgia farmers and State leaders will visit Gabon to see the opportunities the country has to offer. Ambassador Moussa-Adamo hopes his country's friendship with Georgia will spread to other parts of Africa.
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