The Indo-Israel Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Haryana have significantly improved the state’s horticulture sector, increasing fruit and vegetable yields by 37% between 2010 and 2024, according to officials. The area under horticulture cultivation also grew by 13% during this period.
From 2010 to 2024, the area dedicated to fruits, vegetables, spices, and flowers in Haryana rose from 3.64 lakh hectares to 4.12 lakh hectares, while productivity improved from 12.07 metric tonnes per hectare to 16.56 metric tonnes per hectare.
These results were shared during a meeting between Israel’s Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter and Haryana’s Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana at the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for Vegetables in Gharaunda, Karnal, on April 9. The growth in horticulture is seen as significant, given Haryana’s proximity to Delhi, which offers excellent marketing opportunities for the state’s produce.
The Haryana government has been working on a model similar to Beijing’s peri-urban agriculture zone to supply fruits, vegetables, and milk to Delhi. Former agriculture minister Om Prakash Dhankar studied China’s model in 2015, aiming to make it easier to supply Delhi from Haryana.
Currently, 11 Centres of Excellence are operational in Haryana, focusing on modern agricultural techniques like protected cultivation, micro-irrigation, and high-quality seedling production. The state government plans to establish three new centres in Ambala (litchi), Yamunanagar (strawberry), and Hisar (date palm).
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini highlighted the climate and land similarities between Israel and Haryana, noting that Israeli technology is beneficial for the state’s farming, particularly in fruit, vegetable, flower farming, and beekeeping.
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