In order to strengthen farm-sector partnership, India and Israel said yesterday that they are working on a five-year plan together for co-operation in agriculture and water, reported PTI.

A three-year joint programme (2018-20) under which the Centres of Excellence (COEs) are being set up across the country to train farmers about Israeli farm and water technologies has already commenced,.

28 such centres are being set up under the programme. A new centre at Bhuj, Gujarat, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during his ongoing visit and will also visit a centre in Vadrad.

"We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security," Modi said after holding extensive discussions with Netanyahu to strengthen bilateral relations.

There have been exchanges of views on scaling up the COEs between the two countries which have been a mainstay of agricultural cooperation by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology, Modi added. Netanyahu has shared the idea of revolutionising Indian farm sector with use of Israeli water efficiency-improving technology.

Ways to develop joint programmes of assistance for third countries in the areas of training, capacity building, and the development of small projects in the agriculture, water, health-care and education sectors, have been agreed upon by India and Israel, the statement added.