Rajasthan seeks Israeli tech to strengthen agri sector

Rajasthan has sought Israeli technology to increase crop yield, strengthen dairy sector, help water management, learn grafting techniques and increase shelf life of fruits and vegetables with the purpose of doubling its farmers income in the state.

"We already have a strong cooperation going on with Israel in the agriculture sector. Their help, extended through the establishment of two Centres of Excellence and a third one under development, is highly appreciated by us," said Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini, who is leading a delegation from the state on a five-day tour of Israel to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture sector.

"These centres have helped boost production of citrus, pomegranate and date palm. We are now looking to further strengthen this partnership through technology transfer," he said.

"We have similar agro-climate conditions in Israel and Rajasthan. Like Israel we also face scarcity of water, have arid climate and a short winter. The farmer accompanying me are impressed with the facilities and technologies displayed to us on this trip. We seek greater cooperation to take this partnership to the next level," Saini told PTI.

The Rajasthan agriculture minister is accompanied by 16 farmers from the state who have visited wide ranging facilities in Israel and have expressed general appreciation for the techniques displayed to them.

"Our government led by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje aims to double the farmer income by 2020 and first step towards this is to expose farmers to agri-business industry. The delegation here has been brought with the purpose of providing farmers exposure to best international practices so that they can gain knowledge to boost their production and income," Saini said.

"There is so much to learn from Israel in the field of dairy sector, water recycling, horticulture etc. But the farmers are particularly interested in learning grafting technique and identifying technologies to increase shelf life," he added.

The Rajasthan minister has also invited Israel to be a partner country in Global Rajasthan Agri-tech Meet (GRAM) from 9-11 November in Jaipur.

The head of MASHAV, Israeli foreign ministrys wing dealing with international cooperation in the field of agriculture, Gil Haskal, said that India is Israels largest development partner and he sees a lot of potential to further enhance this cooperation.

"Everything is doable and everything is possible with proper technology. There has to be a will and that is what Rajasthan and Israel can show," Haskal said in the context of difficult agri conditions existing in both the places.

He mentioned a pilot project in the Arava desert region in Israel where farmers are growing tropical fish under totally adverse conditions.