India and the Netherlands are keen to further cooperate in the field of agriculture and allied sectors, an official statement said today.
Dutch deputy prime minister and farm minister Carola Schouten today called on India's agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field.
In the meeting, the two ministers discussed the work accomplished so far under the Indo-Dutch collaboration and expressed their desire to strengthen it further, it said.
Singh said India is keen to have further cooperation in crop residue management, bovine breeding, dairy development, animal health and porcine development, among others.
He also emphasised on the need for infusing modern technology in India's agriculture as the Netherlands is a global leader in cultivation of flowers, plants and vegetables, and well known for the diversification of agriculture sector.
Singh informed that a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for vegetables has been commissioned at Baramati in Maharasthra. The second CoE for flowers at Talegaon in the same state will be ready soon and the progress of remaining CoEs is also being followed closely.
Others are in various stages of completion and the focus is on making technology affordable to the small and marginal Indian farmers, he added.
Source: moneycontrol.com