TAU is a partner in advancing India's "Second Green Revolution"
On November 7, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres announced the creation of a special food and water security project in India. This “Second Green Revolution” will be a non-governmental trilateral collaboration between India, Israel, and Australia that aims to increase agricultural efficiency and provide more food and clean water. Tel Aviv University and the Peres Center for Peace will coordinate the project on the Israeli side. The Australian company Pratt Industries and the Ananta Center in India are also partners on this initiative.
The Green Revolution began in India in the 1960s with the introduction of new agricultural technologies and high-yield crop varieties. This Second Green Revolution is the vision of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scale up the agricultural sector and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Israel and India are already engaged in a bilateral cooperation to share agricultural technology, and this new initiative will further those goals.
The Ananta Center organized a discussion on “Challenges and Opportunities of Creating a Second Green Revolution in India” featuring representatives from the project. Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, Dean of TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, co-chaired the dialogue. Shimon Peres said this project is aimed at introducing better technologies to India’s agricultural sector. Noting Israel’s place as a world leader in agricultural technology and water conservation, Peres said Israel's success story is not a miracle but rather a combination of hard work and creative thinking. New technologies helped the nation rise above the lack of water and land.
Peres added, “We must maintain the increased yields, but with more environmentally sustainable practices. I'm convinced that the answer lies in science and technology. India and Israel have a common agenda. We both realize the importance of food security for both our national security and regional stability.”