MP wants to benefit from Israeli expertise

Bhopal, Jan 31 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today met Israel's Agriculture and Rural Development Minister M K Shalon Simhan and expressed a desire to benefit from that country's expertise in enhancing agricultural productivity and improving farming in this state, official sources said.

''An Israeli delegation will soon tour Madhya Pradesh and the nature of cooperation will be determined. Even peasants in water-scarce areas and with small plots can make a higher profit by adopting improved techniques and selecting the right crops,'' said Mr Simhan.

Earlier, Mr Chouhan said that use of chemical fertiliser was still not widespread in a large portion of Madhya Pradesh.

''The global demand for bioproducts is constantly on the upward spiral and my state can play a pioneering role in this context. We desire long-term cooperation with the Israeli government and private-sector institutions for research, development, sprinkler and drip irrigation, agri-processing and training,'' the chief minister added.

Mr Chouhan is being accompanied by Agriculture Minister Chandrabhan Singh and State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Sompal Shastri.

UNI