Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Tuesday that there were ample opportunities of mutual cooperation with Israel, especially in the fields of water management, horticulture, agriculture, food processing, animal husbandry and industries. These views were expressed when Israeli Ambassador Mark Sofer, along with a delegation, called on the CM.
Hooda told Sofer that the state had made phenomenal development in the recent years and the state was the second-largest contributor of foodgrain in the Central pool. Besides this, the state had got first position in the per capita investment. The state had also got second position in terms of per capita income after Goa. He maintained that Haryana was interested to have a collaboration with Israel, especially in the field of veterinary science as the state was planning to set up a veterinary university at Hisar.
He was of the opinion that scientists and farmers of the state and Israel could exchange latest technology in horticulture and agriculture. He said Haryana was also the first in milk production in the country and was exporting Murrah buffaloes, which yield 20 litres of milk per day.
The chief minister stressed upon the need for better water management on the pattern of Israel. Referring to the power availability in Haryana, he apprised Sofer that 5,000 additional MW of power was being generated in the state and in the years to come, Haryana would become a power-surplus state. He said drip irrigation was being used in most areas of southern Haryana and there was a need to use this technology on a larger scale. He said trade between India and Israel had increased 20-fold during the 12 years of opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Sofer lauded Hooda?s role in development of the state. He said Haryana was an agrarian state which produced a large quantity of foodgrain for the country. He said Israel was setting up two centres of excellence for fruits and vegetables in Haryana. The Centre of excellence for fruit would be set up at Mangiana in Sirsa at a cost of Rs 9.70 crore and the centre of excellence for vegetables would come up at Gharounda in Karnal at a cost of Rs 6 crore. The projects have been approved by the Centre.
Sofer invited Hooda for participating in a seminar to be held from November 15 to 17 in Israel, which specifically focuses on water management in India and would be attended by several Indian companies. He assured that training would be imparted to scientists and farmers of Haryana through an
exchange programme.