(L to R) Mr Muhamed Heib, Spokesperson at the Embassy of Israel to India; Mr Oded Halamit, Director of MaTC (MASHAV Agricultural Training Center); Mr Alon Shoham, Director – Overseas Programs at MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs); Dr Lior Asaf, Water Attaché at the Embassy of Israel in New Delhi; and Ms Anupama Madhok Sud, Editor & Director of Water Digest
WD News: A high-level delegation from Israel is currently on a visit to India to expand the initiatives being taken up by Israel in India on several fronts in the area of water & wastewater management and agriculture, particularly the Centers of Excellence established by Israel across India.
As part of connecting with various stakeholders in the Indian water sector, Mr Alon Shoham, Director, Overseas Programs at MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr Oded Halamit, Director of MaTC (MASHAV Agricultural Training Center), and Dr Lior Asaf, Water Attaché at Embassy of Israel in New Delhi met with Ms Anupama Madhok Sud, Editor & Director of Water Digest. Mr Muhamed Heib, spokesperson at the Embassy of Israel to India was also present during the discussions.
Mr Shoham spoke about MASHAV, which is responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the State of Israel’s development cooperation programs. Its activities include Agriculture and Rural Development (water management for adaptation to climate change, combating desertification, irrigation & water efficiency, and applied research), Socio- Economic Development (women empowerment, gender equality, developing small and medium enterprises, community development), and Rural & Urban Development (urban renewal, urbanisation processes, and rural development models).
Mr Halamit shed light on how Israel and India can collaborate in the field of agriculture, encompassing structured interactions between governments, experts and most importantly, farmers.
He highlighted the significance of the ongoing bilateral sharing of knowledge and technologies, and the role of Centers of Excellence in the potential growth of the agricultural sector in India. He further elaborated on the need for human capacity building and “training the trainers” as the best way to achieve maximum impact and sustainable growth, citing examples of visits of Indian delegates to Israel.
Dr Asaf said that it is extremely important that the Government should emphasise on creating water models that ensure that the end consumers, whether it is the private, urban or industrial sector or even farmers should have the ability to be supported for on a long-term basis.
The discussions also entailed the finer points on creating a clear roadmap for bringing in and applying smart water management solutions in the projects being implemented by the Government of India as well as various industries and farmers.
Source: Water Digest Newsdesk
