MORE than 130 Myanmar trainees left Yangon last month to study agriculture and livestock husbandry in Israel for nearly one year, said Mr Yaron Mayer, the Israeli ambassador to Myanmar.

Mr Mayer told The Myanmar Times that 134 trainees, most of them from the ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation, and Livestock and Fisheries, had left for Israel for an 11-month training program in agriculture and livestock studies.

“This program is well appreciated by both the Myanmar and Israeli sides,” he said.

The program is organised by the Myanmar government in collaboration with Granot International Centre for Agriculture (GICA) and Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training (AICAT) – two international centres for agricultural training in Israel.

The trainees will go to Arava in southern Israel and Granot in the country’s central region, where they will benefit from classroom lectures and hands-on experience working with Israeli farmers.

The trip will include a special diploma program covering modern methods of agriculture, including computerised irrigation, pest control, post harvesting, animal husbandry and marketing.

Prior to their departure from Yangon, the trainees were briefed by the Israeli ambassador and Myanmar government officials.

Myanmar first participated in the training program in 1994, when only 15 candidates were sent to Israel. In recent years, about 150 Myanmar government employees have taken part in the program every year.

Nearly 1200 trainees have finished the program since it started.