Last week Kibbutz Naan sold 50 percent of its stake in the irrigation technology company NaanDanJain Irrigation Ltd. to its Indian business partner, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. Representatives from both groups met in Tel Aviv for the Agritech 2012 Conference and Exhibition in Israel. The joint company currently employs 120 workers at Kibbutz Naan. Jain director, Amnon Ofen, said that the company’s operations in Israel would “not be effected” by the transfer. The deal has an estimated value of around $35 million USD.
This move comes as part of a larger movement to bolster relations, particularly in agricultural and environmental fields, between Israel and India.
After the success of the 2008-2010 agriculture support plan, both nations decided to embark on a multifaceted agreement that would include the exchange of expert agricultural training, farm materials, and 20 joint agriculture and water-related projects, with $25 million contributed from each nation.
Israeli innovators developed a green toilet for slum dwellers in 2011, and have more recently been involved with an effort to clean the heavily polluted Ganges river, considered holy by many Indian faiths.
Over 2,000 Indian farmers came to Israel for the 2012 Agritech convention to learn and swap expertise. In September, Israel Export Institute and many other contributors plan to reciprocate by hosting a cooperative Agritech Israel convention in Gandhinagar, India.
Author: Leigh Cuen
Leigh Cuen is a freelance journalist currently reporting from Israel. She has written for the Earth Island Journal, the San Francisco Public Press, the Palestinian News Network, J. weekly newspaper and the Women News Network. Follow her @La__Cuen.
