Senior delegation from India coming to acquire Israeli agriculture

The Indian delegation will participate in the largest international agricultural exhibition in Israel.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

A large delegation of 25 senior officials from the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, which is trying to strengthen cooperation with companies from Israel, will arrive in Israel in September for the AgroMashov 2022 Agri-business exhibition in Jerusalem.

Israeli agriculture is considered a strong, leading brand and one that causes interest for delegations from around the world. The senior officials from India will arrive for a two-week visit and will participate in the largest international agricultural exhibition in Israel.

The delegation includes department managers and R&D officers who are already working with Israeli technologies and intend to strengthen cooperation with Israeli companies and farmers.

The arrival of the delegation was supported as part of the extensive activities of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Foreign Ministry. The delegation will be hosted at MASHAV’s International Agricultural Training Center in Shefayim and will learn about Israeli agriculture at its various levels.

In addition, the members of the delegation will undergo training at selected nurseries approved for the export of fruit trees and will learn and select the varieties suitable for growing in India.

India is the largest agricultural country in the world and MASHAV has been a partner in operating 42 “centers of excellence” and research and development for 15 consecutive years.

Yair Eshel, Israel’s agricultural attaché in India who initiated the visit, stated Tuesday that “Israeli and Indian agriculture have been working hand in hand in recent years. They [India] introduce technologies from Israel in the country on a daily basis.”

“The purpose of the Indian delegation’s arrival in Israel is to strengthen cooperation with Israel, exposure to new knowledge and, of course, on the assumption that one day they will reach private companies – they will know how to promote exports from the country,” he explained.

Hundreds of exhibitors

Israel has a long history of providing aid to Indian farmers. For instance, in November 2020 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and ABAN celebrated the launch of a new initiative to build an agricultural research institute in Chennai, India.

In October 2017, thanks to Israeli drip irrigation, 15,000 farmers in Karnataka, southwestern India, harvested their first monsoon season crop in years. Israeli biotech company, BioFeed, developed a “no-spray” solution to kill the fruit flies that have devastated mango plantations in India.

In 2016, the Indian state of Haryana initiated micro-irrigation projects based on Israeli expertise at 14 sites. In December 2015, The Indo-Israel vegetable center of excellence in Haryana boosted the annual number of seedlings grown by state farmers from half a million in 2011 to six million in 2015.

This is the second international delegation that has secured its place at the exhibition, after the one from Poland.

The giant Polish company, PRONAR, known for the production of heavy agricultural machinery, will present for the first time its new tractors and equipment, which includes trailers, bale loaders, fodder combinations and related accessories.

As part of the Agromshov 2022 international exhibition, which this year marks 31 years of activity, features a variety of advanced and innovative technologies for the world of agriculture and for the farmer.

Professional conferences with hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of farmers and entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture will be part of the event.