NEW DELHI: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and ABAN Group Ltd celebrated the launch of a new initiative to build an Agricultural Research Institute in Chennai.

Speaking on the initiative, BGU President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, said, “As part of the international research community, it is our obligation to share our scientific knowledge for the benefit of all the world’s citizens.”

He further said that we have been deepening our knowledge and researching myriad aspects of desert agriculture up close for more than 50 years. We are proud to be leading global research in these fields and therefore it is natural for Ben-Gurion University of the Negev to direct the academic establishment of an agriculture institute in India. The institute will assist in developing appropriate solutions to the agriculture of India, he added. 

Meanwhile, BIDR Director Prof. Noam Weisbrod who visited India earlier this year to evaluate the site for the new institute said: “Through this partnership with ABAN, we are looking forward to being able to offer the vast knowledge and experience we develop here at the BIDR to students in India in general and Tamil Nadu in particular, so that they will be able to have an impact in their home country.” 

He stressed that the new generation of local scholars will receive the tools to tackle some of the most pressing concerns of the modern world: the need for an efficient and modern agriculture to optimize and improve food production, and the methods and technologies to increase and improve water availability and quality, all while keeping in mind the environmental concerns.

BGU is among the world leaders in the field of desert agriculture and water related research and will be consulting regarding the establishment, development, launch and operation of the joint Academic Research Institute.

Interested students who have finished their undergraduate studies in an academic institution in India and meet academic and administrative requirements of BGU can apply to study towards a certificate course, postgraduate Diploma, or master’s degree at BGU. 

The research component of the degree will be carried out at the ABAN-BGU Academic Research Institute under the guidance of the faculty of the university and / or staff trained by BGU, in one of the following fields - dryland agriculture and biotechnology, hydrology and water quality desert studies, ecology, and conservation.

ABAN and BGU both believe food security is the key to the future and therefore the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) at BGUis the perfect academic partner for this initiative.