By IANS,
Chandigarh : After getting a firsthand account of the technology being used by farmers in Israel for vegetable farming, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced 11 new centres of excellence in farming in the state.
Hooda, who returned from a six-day visit to Israel Saturday, said the centres would be set on the pattern of one set up with the cooperation of Israel at Gharounda in Karnal district. One such centre was being opened in Hisar, according to a statement Sunday.
Hooda said that like Israel, Haryana would also use recycled sewage water for agriculture.
“Like farmers of Israel, the farmers of Haryana would also be motivated to adopt new technologies so as to increase agricultural production. There is a lot to learn from the experiences of Israel where despite a large area being sandy farmers have increased agricultural production. Some 60 percent of their horticultural produce is being exported,” Hooda said.
He said that Israel was laying emphasis on research, and new technologies were being made made available to the farming community.
“The production of fruits in Israel is 7-8 times more compared to that of Haryana. They are making optimum use of each drop of water. The Haryana government too has decided to focus on conservation of water,” he said in the statement.
Hooda had earlier announced the setting up of a working group in cooperation with Israel to review the present state of agriculture in Haryana.
“This group would also suggest ways and means to increase agricultural production,” Hooda, who is also chairman of the prime minister’s working group to increase agricultural production, said.