New Delhi: After years of learning best agricultural practices from Israel, India is now taking help from the country to set up Centres of Excellences for Agriculture to advance in usage of micro and smart irrigation systems (drip irrigation) for paddy, sugarcane and cotton cultivation.
As Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, will be leading a delegation to Israel from May 8-11, his very first visit will be to the facilities of Green 2000 – Agricultural Equipment and Know How Ltd. and NETAFIM Ltd., which are engaged in planning, setting up, consultation and on-going management of various projects in different spheres of agriculture and usage of drip irrigation in paddy, sugarcane and cotton cultivation.
Tomar, who is visiting Israel on invitation by his Israeli counterpart, Oded Forer, for bilateral meetings to discuss agricultural issues between the two countries, will have a roundtable discussion with Agritech Startup companies at the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Tel-Aviv too.
The delegation will visit Agricultural Research Organisation (ARO) – Volcani Institute under the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, which have special expertise in agriculture under arid conditions, on marginal soils, irrigation through effluent and saline water and minimisation of produce losses by using latest pest control and post-harvest storage methods. Tomar will also be meeting Volcani’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme participants from India, a statement from the ministry said.
The minister will be presented with drone agriculture technology solutions with the combination of advanced mapping and photography at Ganei Khna’an near Kibbutz Naan. He will also visit a farm owned by an Indian origin peasant growing vegetables in the Negec desert area.
On the last day, the two ministers will have a one-to-one interaction after which the delegation will visit the MASHAV’s International Agricultural Training Centre, Shefayim, which has been operating since 1963 and specialises in capacity building and transfer of knowledge and professional support in the fields of agriculture, water management, environment and rural development.
(IANS)
