The Ambassador of Israel to India, Dr. Ron Malkha, who is on a three-day tour in the northeastern region of India, has announced that Israel will play a key role in helping the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, in bringing forward his vision of doubling the income of farmers in India by the year 2022.
The country Israel is the strategic partner of India, especially in the field of agriculture. The Ambassador of Israel to India, Mr. Ron Malkha, has said that Israel will be helping India by supporting the Prime Minister in his vision of doubling the farmer’s income in the coming
2 years.
The Indo-Israeli Centre of excellence was inaugurated in 2013 as a part of the ongoing agricultural cooperation between Israel & India. Ron Malkha, on Monday, November 2, said in the presence of the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbandana Sonowal, in Guwahati that these Indo-Israeli Centres of agriculture are widely used in India & here the agricultural technology of Israel is also used abundantly to improve the production in the agricultural grounds.
Twenty-nine such Indo-Israeli Centres in India are today active and share India’s agricultural progress with Israel. Ron Malkha thus stated that his country, Israel, has been sharing a very close bond of friendship with India for the past few years & the two countries also complement in helping each other, after the inauguration of Indo-Israeli Centre of excellence for vegetables Protected Cultivation in the outskirts of Guwahati, at Khetri. He warmly welcomed Assam into the partnership dynamics of India & Israel by launching this 10.33 crore project.
This project is expected to uplift the agricultural & farming activities in Assam. The project will enhance the farmers of the state to get exposure to the latest agricultural technologies of Israel. This, in turn, is expected to maximize their production in agriculture as well as their income.
Dr. Malkha said that Israel is working with farmers in India so that they become more efficient in terms of production. They also need to review the value chain from the farmer’s side & going on to the consumer’s end. The farmer alone is not responsible for increasing the crops’ yield by using their resources wisely and efficiently. Still, it is also their responsibility to strengthen the capacities of these farmers in this competitive field. He further stated that the vision of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 is at a perfect sight, although it has somehow been slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After he stated about the friendship bond of the 2 countries, Ron Malka also mentioned that Israel would also be extending a helping hand in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chief Minister of Assam spoke about the recently launched 10.33 crore agricultural project of the India-Israel partnership dynamics & stated the Israeli agricultural technology’s introduction to Assam’s farmers. He highlighted the “tremendous growth story” of India’s northeastern regions under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in the last 6 years. He stated the significant increase in the annual production of crops, fruits & vegetables. He further stated the region’s growth as a promising destination for trade, commerce & culture, and the improvement of the transport facility through road, river & air connectivity & hence helping the state become a gateway to Southeast Asia and ASEAN.
