Innovative Israeli agricultural technologies will help some six million Indian farmers grow crops such as sugar cane and cotton with maximum water efficiency, thanks to agreements signed recently in Tel Aviv between several Israeli companies and international solution-oriented civil society organization Solidaridad Network.

“Israel has demonstrated different solutions to avoid water calamities,” said Shatadru Chattopadhyay, managing director of Solidaridad Network Asia. “Even with 60 percent of its country made of the desert, Israel has not only solved its water problem; it also has an abundance of water.”

Chattopadhyay said Solidaridad seeks to facilitate adoption of these technologies in India. If they prove successful both technically and financially for Indian smallholders, “they could be scaled up across Asia and Africa where Solidaridad operates.”

One memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with Tevatronic of Sderot, whose autonomous irrigation products will be integrated in sugar cane and organic cotton projects to limit water usage and increase yield.

Another MoU involves Tal Ya Agricultural Solutions of Gan Yoshiya, whose durable tray system protects seedlings, decreases the need for irrigation, fertilizer, weeding and pesticide and significantly increases yield.

A third agreement is being explored with Tel Aviv-based TerraVerde Agriculture to provide consultants on how to increase quality and yield in a large-scale organic cotton growing project.

From left, Solidaridad Israel Country Manager Tzakhi Freedman, Solidaridad Executive Director Nico Roozen and Shatadru Chattopadhyay, managing director of Solidaridad Network Asia. Photo by Yael Tzur

Solidaridad is working with Startup Nation Central of Tel Aviv, which facilitates partnerships with the Israeli high-tech industry to provide solutions to challenging problems across the globe.

Tzakhi Freedman, Israel Country Manager for Solidaridad, said he hopes these agreements will open a channel for integration of Israeli technologies in Solidaridad’s global projects supported by impact investors.