India to tap Israel’s renowned drip irrigation expertise

Jerusalem, June 22: India will tap Israel's globally recognised drip irrigation skill during the upcoming visit of water resources minister Uma Bharti to the country aimed at exploring possibilities of using technological expertise in water management.

A well established leader in water management, desalination and recycling techniques, Israel has set a template for reusing wastewater for irrigation. It treats 80% of its domestic wastewater, which is recycled for agricultural use and constitutes nearly 50% of the total water used for agriculture.

Israel's minister of agriculture and rural development Uri Ariel had led a delegation of experts in the field to participate in India Water Week in Delhi in April and is said to have also offered Israel's help in the ambitious clean Ganga project during his meeting with Bharti.

Israel's globally recognised drip irrigation expertise was prominently displayed at the Water Week event with a seminar, “More Crop per Drop Adoption of Precise Irrigation Technologies” organised to familiar participants with the technology.

Some of the leading Israeli companies in the field of water technologies have already been active in India and set up manufacturing units in India to serve their local clients.

Bharti's three day official engagement in Israel starts on June 28 during which she would be meeting Uriel and minister of national infrastructure, energy and water resources, Yuval Steinitz.

The Union minister will also be visiting facilities of several Israeli companies active in the field of water management and meeting experts in the sector. PTI