Yair Shamir: Israeli farmers have “opened a window” to India

This week, Israel and India signed a declaration on the promotion of the third phase of the long-term cooperation project in the agricultural sector.

On the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in western India, representatives of both states announced their intention to expand the project, which remains the largest within the framework of the Agency for the Development of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel - MASHAV.

The declaration was signed by Israel’s Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir and his Indian counterpart Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya at a conference held in Gandhinagar. The contract is for two years.

The Indian-Israeli cooperation in the agricultural sector, launched in 2008, aims to create Israeli centers of excellence in the agricultural industry in India. The project is being implemented by the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, the government and federal agencies of India, and the Israeli company CINADCO, the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Development.

During the meeting, Yair Shamir and Kundaria stressed the importance of completing the creation of all the previously planned 29 joint agricultural centers of excellence. The second phase of the project is scheduled for completion in March, according to a statement by the representative of the Israeli embassy in India.

The role of the centers for the introduction of Israeli agricultural technologies, adjusted for local conditions, is reduced to increasing the productivity of Indian farms.

The 15 of the 29 centers, which were planned to be set up in the 10 Indian states, are already fully operational, according to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, citing a representative of the Israeli Embassy in India.

“Agriculture is an important platform for Israel’s cooperation with friends abroad,” said Yair Shamir. “Whereas in the past Israel engaged in dialogue with foreign countries mainly on security issues, today food security is a serious problem not only for Israel and India, but for the whole world.”

Shamir and Kundaria discussed the need to expand cooperation in the transfer of India's most advanced agricultural technologies used in animal husbandry, the dairy industry and the water industry, the embassy said in a statement.

During his visit to Yair, Shamir visited one of the centers of excellence in Vadrad, located in the district of Sabarkantha Gujarat.

Yair Shamir met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandinagar (in the picture), during which relations between the two states were discussed, the embassy reported.

The Indian Prime Minister shared his impressions of his visit to Israel in 2006, and also expressed his admiration for Israeli agriculture and the level of food security.

“There are already 15 Israeli centers of excellence across India,” Shamir said. “During my visit, Prime Minister Modi and I agreed to extend the agreement on cooperation in the field of agriculture.”

As usual, a representative delegation of heads of Israeli companies who developed and implemented the most advanced technologies in the agricultural sector joined Yair Shamir on a trip to India. The delegation includes companies that produce irrigation and desalination plants, new technologies in the dairy industry, etc.

Daniel Carmon, Israel's Ambassador to India and former head of MASHAV, emphasized the importance of Israel's cooperation with this country in the agricultural sector, calling this cooperation "an instrument for the development of diplomacy."

Carmon explained: Indian farmers are in a full course of study at centers of excellence. They are not simply shown by advanced Israeli technologies, but also thoroughly explain what their advantages are and how to use them in their daily work on farms. Instead of selling technology, Israelis are carrying out vocational training for their Indian counterparts, Carmon said.

“We have something to be proud of,” he emphasized.

In the first 28 centers, some of which are already in operation, they mostly study and teach gardening. Another 29 centers will be focused on the dairy industry.

The Indian Prime Minister called for a “four-color revolution” in the country: orange for power generation, white for dairy, green for agriculture and environmental protection, and blue for water management.

Israel has long been involved in the green component, and now intends to expand its participation in the white and blue, said Carmon.

As soon as the Israeli centers of excellence opened, experts came to India from Israel “and rolled up their sleeves and started working,” the ambassador said.

“They are adapting Israeli techniques and technologies to Indian conditions,” he said.

Each center has the opportunity to provide professional assistance to 10.000 private farmers. In the upcoming third phase of the project, the parties intend to expand it by creating centers in additional Indian states and demonstrate more technology, Carmon added. He stressed the importance of continuing to develop cooperation in the agrarian sector between the two states.

“This is the basis of the bilateral relationship,” Carmon explained.

Photo by the author and Hanan Retman