Israel plans 3 CoEs to enhance fruit productivity in Maha

Israel will set up three centres of excellence to enhance productivity of fruits in Maharashtra, a senior Israeli Government official said today.

Mumbai: Israel will set up three centres
of excellence to enhance productivity of fruits in
Maharashtra, a senior Israeli Government official said today.

The west Asian nation is also mulling setting-up a
post-harvest college in the state following a request from the
Maharashtra Government, Israeli Consul General, Orna Sagiv,
told reporters here.

The centres of excellence for fruits will be set-up
in Nagpur (citrus fruits), Dapoli (mangoes) and Rahuri
(pomegranates), she said.

"The idea is to ensure farmers make a good living out
of agriculture by implementing efficient solutions across the
chain starting from seeds to be used to post-harvest
techniques," she reasoned.

The Central Government has already allocated funds for
these centres of excellence and each centre will require a
capex of USD 1-million spread over a three-year window.

Israel`s contribution will be around 25 per cent of
the cost, but that will come through transfer of expertise and
visits and not cash, the Consul General said.

Having a similar set of issues facing agriculture like
water scarcity, Israel and India have for long established
collaborations in the agriculture sector and especially in
drip irrigation, which has immensely benefited Indian farmers.

An Israeli delegation comprising 13 companies in the
agrotech and water management space kicked-off their road
shows in western India today from Mumbai.

Yitzhak Kiriati, director of the Israel Export and
International Cooperation Institute, said, "this is an effort
in having more public private partnerships (PPP) and it is
time we see agriculture as a business, not as a means of
merely feeding your population."

In the roadshows, invited Indian companies looking for
help in technology, training, crop management and water saving
will be interacting with participating Israeli companies.

PTI

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