Top priority: Solutions to the water crisis in Israel and worldwide
The availability of water on the earth is diminishing, due to many factors including skyrocketing population growth – there were less than two billion people at the beginning of the 20th century and close to eight billion people today and the consuming of much more water per person today than ever before. Israel has for many years been distributing technologies and methodologies throughout the world that support efficient use and conservation of water, ranging from drip irrigation systems to water reclamation and recycling. Today Israel is focusing its main efforts on increasing water resources through the desalination of seawater.
Invented in Israel: Drip irrigation which helps reduce hunger and save water
In 1955, Israeli engineer Simcha Blass developed the drip irrigation system.
Thise method of irrigating through helps reduce world hunger by increasing agricultural yield while saving water.
The lack of water from natural resources is a permanent reality in Israel, and yet yet Israel is the only country in the world boasting a higher number of trees at the beginning of the 21st century than at the beginning of the 20th century. This is the result of investing in the land and seeking to improve its water economy. By prioritizing agricultural research, Israel has become a world leader in land reclamation and water management and today serves as a mentor for dozens of other nations.
One cultivated acre of land of land in Israel today yields 30 times more than in other countries
The following fact is yet more proof of Israel’s high agricultural capabilities: one cultivated acre of land of land in Israel yields up to 30 times more than a acre of land of land in the average agricultural country.
This could constitute a huge contribution to the problem of hunger afflicting more than half of humanity, and is thanks to over 60 years of continual research.
Israel is among the world leaders in seed production and fruit and vegetable variety development
- In the mid 1990s, Israeli research institutes, led by Prof. Nahum Keidar and Prof. Haim Rabinowitz, developed a strain of cherry tomato that has gained international success and is sold across the globe. All the tomato varieties developed by Prof. Keidar are now grown in dozens of countries, from Europe to Mexico and from South Africa to Morocco and Iran. The seeds for these varieties are produced exclusively in Israel.
- Melons of the Galia variety were developed at the Volcani Institute and became market leaders in Europe.
- Israeli spices command 60-70% of the European spice market.
- The “Or” variety of citrus fruit, considered every agriculturalist’s dream because of its resilience to disease, easily removed peel and almost total lack of seeds, was developed in Israel at the Volcani Institute and is marketed throughout Europe. The rights were sold and the strain we developed is now grown in Spain and other European countries.
- Israel markets special varieties of daffodils and buttercups to all of Europe.
- Israel has developed many varieties of high-yield grapes for consumption.
- Israel has developed techniques and special strains of fruits that grow out of season and are marketed worldwide, such as strawberries, persimmons and raspberries.
Israeli discovery: The color of netting affects the size and quality of crops
Israeli researchers are credited with discovering that various agricultural crops react differently to the color of the nets spread over them. The netting is actually a perforated colored net suspended over agricultural crops for shade purposes. According to the discovery, as different crops grow they respond differently to the color of the netting. This discovery is currently under intensive development in Europe and is already being implemented in Italy, Spain and France.
Israeli cows have the world record in milk yield. Their average milk output is higher than even Dutch and American cows. What’s more, Israeli cows produce 40% less methane gas than that produced by cows in other nations. The lower emission has environmental significance, as methane gas is considered the principle contributor to global warming.
Preserving harvested crops without harmful substances
“Postharvest” is currently the hottest subject in the worldwide agricultural industry. The more the face of world commerce changes, the more it affects the realm of agriculture as well and new and creative solutions are in order. One of the most meaningful changes to take place in recent years is in the transport of crops from one country to another. Once agricultural crops would depart from Israel on airplanes - today the European Union opposes that option due to the high fuel consumption involved, which harms the environment. The need to transport crops by sea mandates developing technologies that preserve the crops for a longer time without harming the consumers who will be eating them later. In Israel, researchers produce high-quality varieties that last for longer and have discovered natural means of preserving fruits and vegetables. These technologies are passed on from Israeli researchers to the global markets, including Europe and the Third World, aiding them in producing more food at lower cost.
part of the ongoing work on developing postharvest technologies necessary for long-term crop preservation, Prof. Elazar Flik of the Volcani Institute invented a machine for washing bell peppers at a certain temperature, to preserve them for a month from the moment they are picked until they reach the European consumer sales points.
These technologies are helping the world fight hunger, and we can take pride in having developed some of the world’s greatest techniques and technologies in this area.
Israel is teaching the Third World to make the shift to community agriculture
African countries, wishing to export agricultural products to the world, are seeking successful models to increase their productivity. Since the kibbutzim and moshavim in Israel are a model of community agriculture and of an economic and democratic community which maintains social solidarity, African states view Israel as a successful, inspiring model for developing commercial agricultural communities. (source)
