Agriculture minister heads for Israel – to witness use of drones to boost farm production

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<strong>Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar is leading an Indian government delegation on a visit to Israel to not only discuss various issues related to agriculture between the two countries but also witness the cutting-edge Israeli technology in the field.</strong></p>
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The May 8-11 visit comes on the invitation of Oded Forer, Minister of Agriculture of Israel for bilateral meetings.  <br />
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The minister will have a roundtable discussion with Israeli agritech start-up companies at Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Tel-Aviv on Sunday.<br />
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The Indian delegation is also scheduled to visit facilities of Green 2000 – Agricultural Equipment and Know How Limited and  NETAFIM Limited which are  engaged in planning, set-up, consultation and on-going management of various projects in different spheres of agriculture and micro and smart irrigation systems (drip irrigation) usage to paddy cultivation, sugarcane and cotton respectively.</p>
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<img alt="Israel" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/tomar_israel.webp" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /><br />
On the second day of their visit, the delegation is proposed to visit Agricultural Research Organisation (ARO) – Volcani Institute under the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development having special expertise in agriculture under arid conditions, on marginal soils, irrigation through effluent and saline water and minimization of produce losses by using latest pest control and post-harvest storage methods. Tomar will also meet Volcani’s postdoctoral fellowship programme participants from India.<br />
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Agriculture minister will also be presented drone agriculture technology solutions with the combination of advanced mapping and photography at Ganei Khna’an near Kibbutz Naan. The delegation will also visit a farm owned by an Indian origin farmer growing Indian vegetables in Negev desert area.</p>
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Farmers in Israel are using drones to herd and watch their cattle. The company that designed the drones, BeeFree Agro, claims that the tech allows for a less stressful environment for the cattle and that drones can efficiently cover large areas <a href="https://t.co/iZQ14zJYW6">pic.twitter.com/iZQ14zJYW6</a></p>
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1337072835697627137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On the concluding day, the delegation will have a one-to-one interaction with Forer in his office. They will also visit the MASHAV’s International Agricultural Training Centre in Shefayim which has been operating since 1963 and specializes in capacity building, transfer of knowledge and professional support in the fields of agriculture, water management, environment and rural development.</p>
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