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The Indo-Israeli Agriculture Project

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The Indo-Israeli Agriculture Project (IIAP) is a bilateral partnership established in 2006 between Israel and Indian governments. India has chosen Israel as a G2G level strategic partner in the field of agriculture. It was established in cooperation with National Horticulture Mission, National Horticulture Board and Indian States Horticulture Departments, and Israel's Agency for International Development (MASHAV) and CINADCO[1] which provides developing countries with Israel's experience in development and planning.

IIAP aims to establish various Centres of Excellence (CoE) in various Indian states with the objective to provide a platform for a rapid transfer of technology to the Indian farmers with the aim of increasing productivity and improving the quality of produce and maximizing their income, by introducing crop diversity, increasing productivity, improving cultivation techniques, irrigation & fertigation and optimising water use efficiency in horticulture.[2][3] The Federal and state Indian stakeholders are leading the IIAP partnership by defining the key crops and sanctioning the activity. The Israeli stakeholder MASHAV, guides the standard of the CoE and transfers the knowledge into the IIAP. The concept of the centres is triangular: Applied Research, SMS (subject matter specialist) Field Extension Officer and the Progressive Farmer. CoE acts as a meeting point for academia, government and farmers to cooperate towards achievements.

In 2017, there were 26 such Indo-Israel centers in the country.[4]

Structure

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IIAP cooperation is divided in multiple three-year work plans:[5][6]

  • The First Action plan (2008-10) - States of development included Haryana, Maharashtra.[7]
  • The Second Action plan (2012-15) - The state of Israel was requested to share best-practices and knowhow and provide capacity building through training programs which were conducted in Israel and India. Implementing partners were NHM–The National Horticulture Mission under the Ministry of Agriculture of India and MASHAV. States of development included Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh.[8]
  • The Third Action plan (2015-18) - a revised action plan and activities to be extended in additional states such as Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana.
  • The Fourth Action Plan (2018-20) - plan includes completing and establishing new Centres of Excellence.

The IIAP areas of activity are:[9][10]

  • Post-Harvest Management (fruit & vegetables)
  • Irrigation and fertigation technologies
  • Introduction of new varieties
  • Plant protection (nematodes, bacteria)
  • Pollination technologies
  • Water management technologies for agriculture, including water re-use
  • Other activities as mutually defined in the Steering Committee

History

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An Indo-Israel Work Plan was signed during the visit of Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh to Israel in May 2006.[11] Based on the field visits of Israeli experts and discussions, First Action Plan stage (2008-2010) was agreed upon during the visit of Minister of Agriculture, Government of Israel to India in January, 2008 wherein a number of areas were identified on which collaborative efforts could be implemented in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan. The plan was later on extended to include the 2012- 2015 period and 2018-2020 period.[12]

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in 2020 had said "India's relation with Israel has been growing rapidly and steadily... In the future, we want to have direct flights to the Northeast as we want to expand the presence of Israel in the region", adding that "the partnership with the Israel government will be a "game-changer" for the state and its farmers" [13]

Further developments

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IIAP was initiated in 2009 after signing a bilateral agreement between Indian and Israeli ministers of Agriculture (2006).

In 2017 Centre of Excellence for cut flowers as part of IIAP in Thally was established.[14]

On 2 November, 2020 Chief Minister of Assam state, Sarbananda Sonowal and Israeli Ambassador to India Dr. Ron Malka laid the foundation stone of Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Vegetables Protected Cultivation at Khetri on the outskirts of Guwahati.[15][16]

In November 4 2020, with aim to benefit Meghalaya farmers by equipping with technology to help increase their income, two centres are planned being built at Jongsha in East Khasi Hills and at Dawagre in East Garo Hills district.[17][18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation of Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
  2. ^ "Welcome to Embassy of India, Tel Aviv, Israel". www.indembassyisrael.gov.in. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  3. ^ "The Indo-Israeli Agriculture Project". mfa.gov.il. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  4. ^ "Centre of Excellence for Vegetables in Karnal a Model For Indo-Israeli Cooperation". News18. 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  5. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  6. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  7. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  8. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  9. ^ "Agricultural Affairs". Consulate General of Israel In Mumbai.
  10. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) [एकीकृत बागवानी विकास मिशन]. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  11. ^ "Issue No. 65 : India Speaks". MEI.ORG.IN. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  12. ^ ":: Indo – Israel ::". midh.gov.in. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  13. ^ "India-Israel agriculture project to benefit Meghalaya farmers: Conrad K Sangma". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  14. ^ "'Centre of Excellence for cut flowers in Thally an excellent example of Indo-Israel co-operation'". The Hindu. 2020-12-01. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  15. ^ Singh, Bikash. "Sarbananda Sonowal lays foundation stone of Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence for Vegetables Protected Cultivation". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  16. ^ "Assam CM lays foundation stone of Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence for Vegetables Protected Cultivation near Guwahati". newsonair.com. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  17. ^ "India-Israel agriculture project to benefit Meghalaya farmers: Conrad K Sangma". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  18. ^ "Meghalaya partners with Israel to set up two Centres of Excellence". www.freshplaza.com. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
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