BENGALURU: Experts have called upon India and Karnataka to take a leaf out of Israel’s book and use technology in water management and agriculture.
“Indians might be successful in rocket science, but they have failed in certain small aspects, such as in areas of water management,” said Abner Chin, chief agronomist at Greentech Hub Limited. Chin was originally from Maharashtra and had shifted to Israel some decades ago.
He was speaking at the plenary session on ‘Sky to Soil: How Indian-Israeli Cooperation in Drones, Agri-Tech and Clean Energy Is Driving Sustainable Innovation’ at Invest Karnataka 2025, Global Investors Meet (GIM) on Thursday.
He observed that small farmers in India are distancing from farming because it now needs more technology, which is not cost-effective. The government should help them come back on track with the offer of technology.
“We in Israel believe in small things. Every kitchen in a house has a biomass gas production facility,” he pointed out. He elaborated on the grooming of the next generation of farmers in Israel by imparting the skills to schoolchildren.
Orli Weitzman, consul general, said Israel being the leader in cybercrime technology can have collaboration with India and also Karnataka. The collaborations can also be possible in the exchange of drone technology, energy, agriculture and water technology. “Our representatives from Israel have arrived at GIM to connect well with Karnataka,” she pointed out.
Sindhu Cherian, director, Ayala Water & Ecology, spoke on the use of technology in domestic waste and industrial wastewater treatment.