Agriculture at Kibbutz Ketura
Agriculture at Kibbutz KeturaIsrael news photo: Remi Jouan

A six-day visit to Israel has inspired the chief minister of Haryana to create 11 new centers of excellence in farming for his own state.

Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Sunday the centers would be based on one set up with Israel's cooperation at Gharounda in the Karnal district after completing his visit to Israel on Saturday.

As in Israel, Haryana will also use recycled sewage water for agriculture, Hooda said in a statement.

"Like farmers of Israel, the farmers of Haryana would also be motivated to adopt new technologies so as to increase agricultural production," the statement said.

"There is a lot to learn from the experiences of Israel where despite a large area being sandy farmers have increased agricultural production. Some 60 percent of their horticultural produce is being exported," Hooda added.

He went on to praise Israel's production of fruit, noting that it is 7 to 8 times more than that of Haryana. "They are making optimum use of each drop of water," he said. "The Haryana government too has decided to focus on conservation of water."

Haryana is one of the wealthiest states in India, with the third highest per capita income in the country. Agriculture is the leading occupation of residents in the state, a leading contributor to India's production of grain and milk.