India, Israel Agree To Further Enhance Cooperation In Agriculture Sector

India and Israel have decided to further deepen their co-operation in the agriculture sector.

During a meeting with newly appointed Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar expressed satisfaction at the functioning of 29 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in 12 states which are producing more than 25 million vegetable plants, over 387 thousand quality fruit plants and can train more than 1.2 lakh farmers per year.

The minister informed that it has been decided to convert 150 villages around the CoEs into Villages of Excellence with technical assistance from Israel, out of which 75 villages are being taken up in the first year to commemorate the 75th year of India's independence where India and Israel will work together, an Agriculture Ministry release said on Friday (28 January).

The Ambassador of Israel Gilon also expressed satisfaction over the functioning of the CoEs, stating that these CoEs are a great example of cooperation between the two countries.

The Ambassador appreciated the working of ICAR institutes and showed interest in further collaboration with ICAR and making available the latest technologies available with Israel.

He proposed the certification of CoEs to further enhance the standards and quality of services being provided to the farmers.