Beijing- The 1st Member Meeting of the Regional Council of Agricultural Machinery Associations in Asia and the Pacific (ReCAMA) was held in Qingdao, China on 26-28 October 2015. The Meeting was held in parallel with China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition (CIAME) 2015. In line with the goals outlined in SDG 17, ReCAMA aims to forge stronger ties with the private sector to facilitate regional collaboration, trade and investment. ReCAMA promotes sustainable agricultural mechanization in Asia and the Pacific by strengthening the capacity of national agricultural machinery associations and by stimulating exchange and innovations. Under the slogan "Connecting for Growth and Cooperation" the Council is a platform for information sharing, stimulating innovation, and foster regional public-private partnerships to promote the implementation of sustainable business practices and south-to-south cooperation.

A total number of 44 participants from 11 Member associations, relevant stakeholders and observers participated in the Meeting, specifically, from: Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Mr. Mao Hong, Chairman, China Agricultural Machinery Distribution Association, Mr. Kong Liang, Deputy Director General of the Department of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture of China, delivered  welcoming remarks by emphasizing the Chinese government willingness to share its mechanization experiences with Asia-Pacific countries, and to support the works of CSAM and ReCAMA.

Mr. Zhao Bing, Head, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization and Ms. Feng Xin, Assistant to the Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of People’s Republic of China to the UNESCAP, Embassy of P. R. China to the Kingdom of Thailand delivered opening remarks. Mr. Zhao Bing appealed for ownership and contribution from the Member associations and Observers of ReCAMA to better serving their needs and achieve the Council mission. Miss Feng Xin highlighted the progresses of ReCAMA in the last year and the relevance of this project in light of the 2030 development agenda.

During the first session two new associations and one observer were introduced and accepted into the Council, specifically, the Russian Association of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, and Thai Society of Agricultural Engineering. While, Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America (AMA) – a Japanese influential Journal in the field of agricultural mechanization was accepted as Observer.

Members reviewed the work report of 2015 and approved work plan for 2016. In addition, the Indian Agricultural Machinery Manufactures' Association (AMMA), represented by its President Mr. D. S. Balachandra Babu, was elected as the Chair of ReCAMA in 2016 and assisted by the Sri Lankan Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers' Association (AgMMA) as Vice Chair represented by Mr. Lasantha Wickremesooriya.

Member associations voiced their interest toward the adoption of harmonized testing Codes for testing of agricultural machinery. Particularly, several participants including associations and manufactures emphasized the significance of the Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM) Codes recently developed by CSAM.

To boost regional trade and stimulate innovation, the last session was dedicated to business matchmaking. In this occasion, Associations participating in ReCAMA Meeting met with Chinese counterparts to explore future partnerships. It was agreed at the Meeting that the 2nd ReCAMA Member Meeting will be held in July 2016 in India.

The participants were also arranged to visit the factories of LS Machinery (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. and MASCHIO GASPARDO China.