JERUSALEM : Israel, known world over for its water management techniques, plans to more than double its Centres of Excellences in India to boost the bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture.
“India and Israel share a very strong bonding and our cooperation cuts across many areas. Agriculture is an important component in our relationship and we have established 13 Centres of Excellences in India so far which will go up to 28 in the coming years”, said Uri Ariel, Israel’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“We have the necessary expertise required for cleaning the Ganges and we will extend all possible cooperation in this project during my visit to India next week”, Ariel said.
He said Israel also wanted to expand its existing cooperation with India in agriculture sector.
Ariel will inaugurate another Centre of Excellence in Haryana during his visit to India next week to participate in the “Water Week” starting on April 4, which will be the third in the state.
He will be leading a delegation of 10 Israeli companies active in the field of water management, with some of them already active in India.
In agriculture, Israel’s drip irrigation method is already popular in many parts of India.
Ariel is expected to meet Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharati and Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh, besides Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje among others during his visit.
A well established leader in water management, desalination and recycling techniques, Israel has also set a template for reusing wastewater for irrigation.
It treats 80 per cent of its domestic wastewater, which is recycled for agricultural use and constitutes nearly 50 per cent of the total water used for agriculture.
Israel’s globally recognised drip irrigation expertise will also be prominently displayed at the Water Week event with a seminar, “More Crop per Drop – Adoption of Precise Irrigation Technologies” scheduled for Tuesday.
Some of the Israeli companies have already been active in Israel and have contributed in the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
A seminar, “Israel Makes in India” has been also planned by the Israeli delegation to showcase manufacturing activities carried out by Israeli companies in India. (PTI)
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