(NAFB.com) – Israel, which has recently become a world leader in agricultural technology, signed a major economic pact with Arkansas.

The two will share their research and technology, especially for agriculture, and that will broaden a trade relationship that’s already worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Trade between them last year reached more than $100 million dollars. Both sides have also benefited from agricultural and scientific research grants worth more than $400,000 since their partnership started in 2017. The Washington Free Beacon says a 2019 review of one agricultural grant between the two sides shows an economic partnership during the past four decades that’s added billions to the U.S. economy.

Though much of Israel is desert and lacks water, the country has learned to grow some of the highest-yielding agricultural products, including tomatoes and cow’s milk. Agriculture is Arkansas’s largest industry, adding approximately $16 billion to the state’s economy every year.