Rajasthan, the largest state of the country has wanted Israeli technology to boost crop yield, reinforce dairy sector, assist water management, be trained about grafting techniques and enhance shelf life of fruits and vegetables with the intention of doubling-up its farmers’ income in the state.
Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said, “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. 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 further added, “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 farmers 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.”
Talking about the aims of the Chief Minister of the state Vasundhara raje and the efforts by the government which are put in to strengthen the farmers of the state, the minister said, “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
Also, he told that there is a lot that we can learn from a developing country like Israel. He 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.
