Agriculture and water cooperation: India and Israel

Agriculture is the longest-running operational track in the India-Israel relationship. Indian agricultural research institutions began drawing on Israeli technical assistance in the 1960s, decades before formal diplomatic relations. The contemporary architecture rests on a 2006 work plan and an expanding network of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) implemented through MASHAV, Israel's foreign-aid agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Water cooperation runs in parallel, drawing on Israel's leadership in drip irrigation, water recycling and desalination. This piece sets out both.

The institutional frame

The formal architecture rests on the comprehensive work plan for cooperation in agriculture signed by India and Israel on 10 May 2006. The work plan established three operational elements: a network of Centres of Excellence across Indian states; technology-transfer projects on specific crops and techniques; and capacity-building (training Indian agricultural extension officers and farmers in Israel).

The Centre of Excellence model is the visible operational unit. A typical CoE is a public-funded facility within an Indian state agriculture department, designed and equipped using Israeli technology and training, focused on a specific crop, livestock, or production system relevant to that state's agro-climatic zone. Each CoE works as a demonstration site, a training centre and a seed source for farmer adoption.

The CoE network has grown across the major Indian agricultural states. Operating CoEs as of mid-2026 are reported across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and other states. Each CoE typically focuses on horticultural crops (mangoes, citrus, pomegranate, vegetables), protected cultivation, dairy intensification, or seed production.

What CoEs actually do

A representative CoE provides four kinds of output:

• A working demonstration of best-practice Israeli production systems adapted to local soil, water and climate conditions.
• Quality planting material (seedlings, grafted plants) at scale and at controlled cost, sold to local farmers.
• Training programmes for farmers, extension officers and agribusiness operators.
• Applied research on adapting Israeli technique to Indian conditions, often in partnership with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state agricultural universities.

The cumulative output of the CoE network is large and difficult to measure precisely. State-level reporting from Haryana and Maharashtra (two of the most developed CoE clusters) indicates millions of farmer training contacts, tens of millions of planting-material units distributed, and measurable yield gains in the crops the relevant CoEs focus on.

The 2026 expansion

The February 2026 Modi visit to Israel produced a substantial expansion of the agricultural cooperation framework, beyond the existing CoE model:

India-Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture (IICA). ICAR and MASHAV agreed to establish a flagship innovation centre focused on next-generation technologies: precision farming, satellite-based irrigation control, advanced agricultural machinery, and integrated pest management. The IICA is conceived as a research-led umbrella for the next phase of the CoE network.

Fisheries and aquaculture Centre of Excellence. A new CoE focused on fisheries, including disease management, mariculture, and seaweed research and development. This is the first CoE outside the conventional crop-and-livestock model.

Indo-Israel Cyber Centre of Excellence. A Letter of Intent for a cyber CoE to be established in India. Although not strictly an agricultural facility, it sits within the same MASHAV-led cooperation envelope and reflects the broadening of the model.

Water cooperation

Israel is widely cited as a global leader in water-management technology, the legacy of building a successful agricultural economy in a water-scarce environment. India-Israel water cooperation draws on three Israeli specialities:

Drip irrigation. The technique pioneered by Simcha Blass at Kibbutz Hatzerim and commercialised by Netafim from the mid-1960s. India is now the world's second-largest market for drip irrigation, with significant Israeli supplier presence (Netafim's Indian operations) and local manufacturing in partnership with Indian firms such as Jain Irrigation Systems.

Wastewater treatment and reuse. Israel recycles approximately 90 per cent of its wastewater for agricultural reuse, the highest rate of any country. Bilateral cooperation on wastewater-reuse standards, plant design and dual-distribution systems has been ongoing since the mid-2010s.

Desalination. Israel sources roughly 70 per cent of its potable water from desalination as of mid-2026 and is a leading exporter of desalination technology. Cooperation with Indian states facing water stress (Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra) has been progressing through bilateral working groups, with several pilot installations operational.

A Joint Water Cooperation Working Group runs in parallel to the agriculture work plan and meets at intervals between the bilateral commissions.

Constraints and what to watch

The agricultural cooperation has scaled materially over twenty years, but a few constraints repeatedly appear in independent reviews:

• Centre of Excellence quality varies by state. The most successful CoEs (Haryana, Maharashtra) are well-resourced and integrated into state agriculture departments; others are less so. The IICA umbrella announced in 2026 is partly intended to address this.
• Technology adoption beyond the CoE catchment requires sustained state-level extension capacity, which is uneven across Indian states.
• The 2023 to 2025 Gaza war disrupted some MASHAV training cycles, with most planned cohorts continuing but with delays. Operations are reported as fully resumed through 2026.

In one paragraph

India-Israel agricultural cooperation runs through MASHAV-implemented Centres of Excellence under a May 2006 work plan, with operating CoEs across most major Indian agricultural states focused on horticulture, protected cultivation, dairy and seed production. The February 2026 Modi visit to Israel established a new flagship India-Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture, a fisheries and aquaculture CoE, and an Indo-Israel Cyber Centre. Water cooperation runs in parallel, drawing on Israeli leadership in drip irrigation (Netafim with Indian partners including Jain Irrigation), wastewater reuse (Israel recycles around 90 percent of wastewater for agriculture), and desalination (Israeli sourcing now around 70 percent of potable water from desalination). The model is mature but uneven in state-level adoption beyond the CoE catchment; the 2026 IICA umbrella is the next iteration.

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Sources

[1]: India-Israel comprehensive work plan for cooperation in agriculture, signed 10 May 2006. Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare / Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. https://www.mea.gov.in/

[2]: "MASHAV - Center for International Cooperation, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs." https://embassies.gov.il/MASHAV/

[3]: "India-Israel Agricultural Action Plan: Centres of Excellence." Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. https://agricoop.gov.in/

[4]: "India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership 2026: Key Agreements." SPM IAS Academy summary of February 2026 visit deliverables. https://spmiasacademy.com/currentaffairs/india-israel-special-strategic-partnership/

[5]: "Israel's Water Economy and Technology Cooperation Abroad." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Israel Water Authority. https://www.gov.il/

[6]: "Israel and Indian water cooperation: drip, wastewater reuse, desalination." Bilateral working group reports. https://www.gov.il/

[7]: India-Israel Joint Water Cooperation Working Group, meeting summaries. https://www.mea.gov.in/

[8]: "India-Israel agricultural cooperation: an independent review." Observer Research Foundation / Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). https://www.orfonline.org/

[9]: "Drip irrigation in India: market scale and adoption." FICCI agribusiness reports. https://ficci.in/

[10]: "India-Israel Relations." Drishti IAS overview with bilateral cooperation summary. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-israel-relations-2