Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
There is an effort on part of our country to share its best farm practices, especially in horticulture, with Indian farmers to improve yield and quality.
Daniel Carmon,AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL |
Chandigarh, November 19
Israel will help Punjab farmers in upgrading technology to improve the quality and production of citrus fruits. Speaking to The Tribune here today, Ambassador of Israel Daniel Carmon said there was an effort on part of his country to share its best farm practices, especially in horticulture, with Indian farmers to improve yield and quality. He said there was a complete synergy between the governments of Israel and India to achieve the objective.
He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and he would inaugurate a centre of excellence for citrus fruits at Khanaura (Hoshiapur) tomorrow. He held a meeting with Badal in that connection today.
The inaugural function of the centre of excellence for citrus fruits will also be attended Agriculture Minister Tota Singh and others.
This is the second Indo-Israel centre of excellence to be established in the state in less than a year. Earlier a centre for vegetables was set up at Kartarpur, Jalandhar. The new centre will serve as yet another focal point for Indo-Israeli agricultural research and development and will showcase some of the most advanced Israeli nursery and fruit cultivating technologies adapted for Indian conditions by local experts. An Israeli expert will also hold a vegetable seminar later this month.
Talking about the optimal usage of water, Daniel said Israel was a world leader in recycling water for agriculture purposes. "We use recycled water to the extent of 90 per cent, whereas the figure is 19 per cent in case of Spain, which is number two in the world in this regard," he said. "We have adopted best techniques to make the best possible use of water," he said.