Israel seeks to raise number of centre of excellence

PTI

As a step towards promoting the cooperation between India and Israel in the agricultural sector, Israel seeks to increase the number of Centres of Excellence across India.

There are currently 15 such centres that enable rapid transfer of Israeli agricultural technology to farmers, including those in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and going ahead, these would be increased to 29.

This was stated by Barak Granot, Head of Economic and Trade Mission, Embassy of Israel at the CII Agro Tech 2016, said a CII release.

Referring to the partnership between India and Israel, Granot said, "Israel is a very small country, 60 per cent of it is a desert and yet it has achieved surpluses in food and water. The reason for this is that agriculture in Israel is backed by science and technology and our companies are happy to share these innovations with farmers in India."

Despite vast differences in soil and weather conditions across India, Granot expressed hope in the possibilities that exist for increasing crop yield.

"These centres are meant to teach Indian farmers about how to increase productivity of fruits and vegetables. Further to this, these centres target both small and large farm holders, thus offering a wide range of agricultural practices in order to enable all to benefit from the new technologies. The strong response from the farming community across India has prompted us to increase the number of such centres," release quoting Granot said.

Israel is showcasing its knowhow in the field of dairy, poultry farming, pesticides, fertilisers and irrigation systems at the 'International Pavilion' of CII Agro Tech.