People line up to enter a reopened street store in Jerusalem, on Nov 10, 2020. Street stores in Jerusalem were allowed to be reopened from Nov 8 as part of the steps to ease the ongoing full lockdown. Photo:Xinhua

Israel will set up a national food institute to promote innovation in the food and food tech industries, Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry said on Tuesday.

The institute will be established at the Tel-Hai College, located about 4 kilometers north of Israel's northernmost city of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee Panhandle region, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli government will invest 21.2 million shekels ($6.17 million) in the setup and operation of the institute, the ministry said.

The institute will be established and operated by the Tel-Hai College, the MIGAL Galilee Research Institute in Kiryat Shmona, and private companies selected by the ministry.

The institute's goals are to support the Israeli food and food tech industries, increase productivity, promote innovation, improve knowledge flow between academia, and industry, and strengthen the region as the country's food-tech valley, the ministry said.

It will serve as a home for food companies and startups, where they will be able to develop their products and manufacturing processes and promote the assimilation of food innovation, it added.

Xinhua