Comments
Aimed at fostering cooperation in the areas of agriculture and horticulture, Gujarat and Israel have decided to form a joint working group to explore collaboration at various levels.
On a six-day visit to Israel, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani interacted with the Israeli Agriculture Minister, Uri Ariel, to explore cooperation and innovation in the area of farming, aimed at doubling farmers' income by 2022.
"Our association with Israel can play a big role, in the areas of horticulture and agriculture, technology advancements such as digital farming, optimum utilisation of agri-inputs such as water and fertilisers," Rupani said after meeting Ariel in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
The joint working group will be headed by Sanjay Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary of Agriculture and Cooperation Department, Government of Gujarat. Besides working on government-to-government levels, the joint working group will also explore collaboration on a business-to-business level.
The Chief Minister, accompanied by Gujarat delegation - including the Cabinet Minister, Jaydrathsinh Parmar, and senior State government officials visited Israeli agro-technology leader Netafim. The had delegation started their 6-day Israel visit on Wednesday.
Digital farming
Netafim CEO Ran Maidan showcased the digital technology being used for farming and also offered to help develop digital farming in Gujarat.
Digital farming uses sensors to capture realtime information about moisture availability in the atmosphere, crop status, health besides soil and climate information. It will use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to capture and analyse data, which will help automise drip irrigation thereby saving water and fertilisers.
Digital farming technology will create a new landmark for farming in Gujarat. Israeli technology and know-how will empower Gujarat agriculture. Israel has offered to gift 100 units to set up digital farming in Gujarat. "This will be game-changer for Gujarat's farming," Rupani said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Gujarat Government had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mprest for conducting gap-analysis and feasibility reports for smart city projects in the State.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.