India and Israel are to collaborate on more than 20 agriculture and water-related projects anchored by Centers of Excellence (CoEs) across India, Israeli Ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz has revealed.
Speaking to Indian business daily the Economic Times, Ushpiz said that the first CoE opened last year with a focus on vegetables and the second one, which will specialise in fruit research, is set to launch next month in Sirsa, Haryana. The CoEs are designed to help introduce technologies for use by farmers in both countries.
The two governments have established plans to spend a combined US$50m on agricultural cooperation, each country investing US$25m. The collaboration is likely to cover a range of areas including post-harvest technologies, micro-irrigation, food processing and dairy.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has revealed plans to boost its agritechnology support in Karnataka, building on the pact it signed to transfer technology from Dutch companies to the state’s farmers last year, according to FnBnews.com.
“We need to value-add and offer our expertise in the area of innovation in the developing world,” Henk van Duijn, agricultural counsellor of the Dutch Embassy in New Delhi told the Indian food and beverage news service.
As one of one of the world’s top five nations in seed propagation, the Netherlands could play a key role in boosting growers’ incomes through seed production, van Duijn said.
With climate change placing increasing demands on producers, the country could also offer expertise in smart greenhouse systems, water-saving technologies and energy-saving solutions.
In addition, the Netherlands has a reputation for its biological pest control techniques, such as integrated pest management, which can play a key role in raising farmers’ productivity, he added.
The Netherlands has established horticultural training institutes in Pune (Maharashtra) and Jaipur (Rajasthan) with a focus on developing farmers’ skills and van Dujin said that the Karnataka government could work with the country to capitalise on its agricultural strengths.
