India implements advanced Israeli Agro-Technology
Dr. Ron Malka, Ambassador of Israel to India, inaugurated on 16 June 2021three Centers of Excellence (COEs) in Karnataka under Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP), saying these will be the milestone in development of agriculture sector in the southern state.
“We are proud and excited to collaborate with the Government of Karnataka in agriculture, which is a significant part of the Indo-Israeli partnership. Today, we inaugurated three different Centres of Excellence at a time when relations between our countries are strengthening and expanding rapidly,” said the envoy.
“This is a milestone in the development of the State’s agriculture sector, and will give local farmers a competitive edge in the national and international market. This will also enable them to double their income,” he said.
The MIDH Division of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, are leading Israel’s largest G2G cooperation, with 29 operational COEs across India in 12 States, implementing advanced Israeli Agro-Technology tailored to local conditions.
Out of these 29 fully functional COEs, 3 are in Karnataka, viz., COE Kolar for Mango, COE Bagalkote for Pomegranate and COE Dharwad for Vegetables. These COEs generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices and train officers and farmers, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in a statement.
B. S. Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka, thanked the Government of India and State of Israel for providing financial and technical assistance for establishment of the COEs under Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP) in Karnataka to transfer the innovative technologies for improving production, productivity and quality of horticulture produce. This would also help achieve sustainability and improve economic status of the farmers.
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “These Centers will help farming community of Karnataka to get access to the latest innovative Israeli technologies and adopting them to increase production and productivity which will help in increasing the farmers income.
“These COEs have the capacity of 50,000 grafts production and 25 lakh vegetables seedlings production annually. About 20,000 farmers have visited these COEs to gain knowledge about the modern cultivation practices in horticulture”.
R. Shankar, Minister of Horticulture and Sericulture, Government of Karnataka, added, “There is a lot of scope for adoption of new technologies in crop production and post-harvest management to increase the production and productivity of the horticulture produce in Karnataka.” #technologies #agriculture #farmers #crops /fiinews.com
