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• In2012 the exhibitionprogram included the conference
on “Israel-India - 20th Anniversary of Diplomatic
Relations - 2 Decades of Agricultural Success”.
• Over the years, Israel’s AGRITECH - held every three
years, has become synonymous with cutting-edge
agricultural technology. At the event in 2012, over 230
exhibitors with more than 30 from abroad, showcased
the latest agriculture technological advancements for
growing and packaging food, cost effectively.
• Large number of Indian farmers from different parts of
the country and several experts, scientists, bureaucrats
and Agriculture Ministers of Haryana and Andhra
Pradesh attended the exhibition. More than 2,000
farmers from India, including 600 from Gujarat, were in
Israel to see and adopt new agriculture technology.
• FICCI took a 10-member business delegation to
Agritech. The participants were from the major agri-
business companies in India. The programme also
included the field visits to dairy farms, Irrigation
companies, post harvest management organizations
and Research & Development Institutes.
Opportunities for FICCI Partnership with Israel
There are innumerable opportunities where FICCI can
partner with Israel and tackle the issues related to
agriculture and water management in our country.
•
Fresh/Processed Fruits & Vegetables:
One major
issue with the processing sector in India is lack of scale
in most units, which in turn is linked to the absence of
backward and forward linkages. With 100 per cent FDI
permitted in food processing, this is one area where
returns can be quite high and we must look at this
domain.
•
Dairy Farming:
While India ranks first in world milk
production, at 115 million tonnes, per capita availability
of milk is 258 grams per day, in contrast to the world
average of 265. The Israeli cow has the highest national
milk (production/cow/year) of 11,461 kg of milk; of
which protein is 3.29% and fat is 3.71%, which are the
highest in the world. Although, it would not be possible
to implement all the mechanized and automated dairy
practices in India, there are still enormous opportunities
provided low cost technologies that replace manual
labour are introduced.
•
Seeds:
Israel exports over $120million worth of
seeds mainly hybrids. Some 40% of European tomato
greenhouses use seeds of a tomato hybrid with a
long shelf life developed and produced in Israel. Other
successful developments are: seedless watermelon,
mini watermelons, bite size mini cucumbers, hybrid
cotton, naturally colored cotton etc. The current
challenge is to make these technologies affordable
and cost effective in India. For this India requires the
expertise from the Israeli counterparts.
•
Water & Irrigation:
Israeli irrigation systems are used
worldwide. More than 80% of this sector’s products
are exported. Israel has pioneered in innovative
irrigation technologies, systems and accessories like:
drip irrigation, automatic valves and controllers, low
discharge sprayers, mini sprinklers, compensated
drippers etc.There is scope of training Indianmanpower
to learn these advanced technologies for which we
need guidance and support from your end.
•
Greenhouses:
This is another niche area inwhich Israel
has developed extensively. Specialized Greenhouses
systems have been developed like Plastic films and
heating, ventilation and structural systems which
enable Israeli farmers to grow an average of 300 tons of
tomatoes per hectare per season - four times the yield
of those grown in open fields. There is an immense
scope for collaboration in this area, especially for
cultivation of vegetables in peri-urban areas.
