India and Israel sign 3 years agricultural cooperation contract
India and Israel governments on May 24, 2021, signed a three-year joint work programme till 2023 with the goal to enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed.
“India and Israel have had bilateral relations since 1993 in the agricultural sector. This is the 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP),” said Tomar in an official statement during the signing ceremony.
Ambassador of Israel to India Ron Malka noted that the three-year work programme (2021-2023) will benefit farmers locally both through the Villages of Excellence and the Centres of Excellence. This work programme is a sign of the strength of the growing partnership between India and Israel.
The three-year work programme will work to increase existing Centres of Excellence (CoEs), grow CoEs value chain, set up new centres, and drive CoEs into the self-sufficient mode, Malka added.
About 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP)
- The 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Actionquality
IIAP), a three-year work programme between India and Israel for agricultural cooperation aims at strengthening the Indo-Israel bilateral relations and cooperation in the field of agriculture and farming community.
- Under this action plan, Indo-Israel Villages of Excellence (VoE), a model ecosystem in agriculture will be set up across eight states along with 13 Indo-Israel Agricultural Project Centres of Excellence (CoEs) within 75 villages.
- The three-year programme will aim at increasing the net income and bettering the livelihood of the individual framers, training farmers about the latest agricultural technology, and transforming farms into modern-intensive farms in accordance with IIAP standards.
About Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP)
- The Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP), a bilateral partnership that India and Israel signed on May 10, 2006, in Tel Aviv under which technology in the field of agriculture was transferred from Israel to Haryana and Maharashtra in India through Centres of Excellence (CoE).
- Four such Agriculture Action Plans have been successfully completed so far: First IIAP (2008-10), Second IIAP (2012-15), Third IIAP (2015-18), and Fourth IIAP (2018-20).
- Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Govt. of India, and MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation are driving Israel’s largest G2G cooperation.
- So far, 29 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) under the IIAP have been set up and are operational in 12 states across the country.
- Each year, these CoEs train more than 1.2 lakh farmers about the latest agricultural technology, produce more than 3,87,000 fruits and more than 25 million vegetable seedlings of high quality
Source: https://m.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/amp/indiaisrael-sign-3year-work-programme-for-agricultural-cooperation-1621866623-1