T team to study farm practices in Israel

Hyderabad: A high-level Telangana government delegation, led by Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, plans to visit Israel to study agricultural practices there and replicate them in the new State.

The Minister discussed the subject with a visiting Israeli delegation comprising Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel Yahel Vilan and others here on Tuesday.

“Of the total 119 Assembly constituencies in the State, as many as 72 lacked irrigation facilities and are solely dependent on rain. We want to take Israel as the model to develop agriculture in Telangana as it has excelled in higher agricultural yields using less water,” Srinivas Reddy told reporters after a meeting with the visiting delegation. Telangana has fertile lands, manpower and also water resources, but farmers remained backward since they lacked proper direction, he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli delegation also met Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao at the Secretariat. The Indo-Israeli Chamber of Commerce has come forward to extend technical support to agriculture and dairy sectors in the State for better output.

The Minister also discussed prospective import of technology and embryos for quality cow production as Israeli cows yield 11,000 litres of milk per annum.
Pulla Rao said that discussions would be held further with Israel on agriculture and dairying, at a later stage.