India, Israel planning to create $50 mn agriculture fund

NEW DELHI: India and Israel are in talks to create a fund worth $50 million for mutual cooperation in the agriculture sector.

Both the governments are planning to create a fund dedicated to agricultural co-operation with each side contributing $25 million each, Israel Agriculture Minister Orit Noked said here today.

The minister was speaking at an interactive session on Indo-Israel Cooperation in Agriculture and Food Processing organised by the industry chamber CII.

India is a huge market and has a great potential in the agriculture sector, while Israel has strengths in the areas of research and development, irrigation technology, dairy and biotechnology, Noked said.

There is a scope for both the countries to collaborate in this area and learn from each others expertise, she added.

Israeli Ambassador Mark Sofer said, "The key areas for co-operation are management of water resources through efficient irrigation technology, agro technology, post-harvest know-how to minimise wastages and dairy development through breed improvement."

Last month, Haryana and Israel had formed a joint working group to promote agricultural co-operation between the two nations.

Under this, Israel would train Haryana's agricultural development officers and the state would emulate Israel's model of building reservoirs for rain water harvesting.

During 2009-10, the bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $3.8 billion.

India's major exports to Israel include precious stones, metals, chemical products, textile and textile articles, while imports comprise chemical and mineral products, base metals, machinery and transport equipment.