India, Israel in dairy research move?

India and Israel are considering setting up funding for promoting applied research apart from investment and wide ranging collaboration in dairy industries, The New India press reports.

An Israeli has recently been in India to help identify areas of collaboration – dairy management for reducing adverse impact on the environment or improving water utilisation for enhanced farm output, particularly in regions of water scarcity.
The delegation from Israel’s ministry of agriculture and rural development has been visiting agriculture institutes and farms here and in Maharashtra and Rajasthan to assess the potential for agricultural cooperation.
Meanwhile, India agricultural delegates will be attending the International Agriculture Exhibition, Israel’s largest agriculture show, to be held May 9-11 near Tel Aviv.
“We are mulling establishment of a joint research fund. The objective is also to provide umbrella for helping the private agro sector find suitable projects for collaboration and have in place some suitable financing arrangement,” says Zvi Herman, director of the Tel Aviv-based Centre for International Cooperation.
According to Herman, with Israel and India sharing problems like salinity, arid regions and water shortage there was plentiful room for collaboration.
“The focus of the collaboration would be on applied research including water management, improvement of genetic capacity of local herds, sharing experience in horticulture and on salinity affected areas, exchange of researchers and improve agriculture practices,” the official said.
Additionally, dairy reform has been identified as a major sector where Israeli experts are expected to help India implement practical steps to reduce pollution and an adverse impact on environment.
This would involve setting up enclosed dairy operations such that all the waste generated is treated within the four walls with no discharge of any organic matter or polluted water to the fields without proper treatment.