Shalom

Israel Agriculture - From pioneering desert

cultivation to today’s Ag-tech nation

Welcome to Israel

M C March 11,2022

CINADCO
MASHAV International Agricultural Training Center
A glance into
Israel’s
Agriculture
 Sea of
Mediterranean Galilee
Sea

Jordan
River

Dead
Sea

Red Sea
Land Area: 98%
Water Area: 2%

Facts about Israel
Capital and largest city: Jerusalem
Official languages:Hebrew
Recognized languages: Arabic
Government: Unitary parliamentary republic Total: $372.314 billion (51st)
President Isaac Herzog
Prime Minister: Naftali Bennett
Alternate Prime Minister: Yair Lapid
Declaration: 14 May 1948
Area
Total: 20,770–22,072 km2 (149th)
Water (%) 2.71
Population:
2022 estimate: 9,485,180 (99th)
GDP (PPP) 2020 (21)
Per capita: $40,336 (34th)
GDP (nominal) 2020 (20210
Total: $410.501 billion (31st)
Per capita: $44,474 (19th)
 Religion Population
Moslems* Druze & Others***
19 % 5%
Christians**
2%

Jews
74%
* 10% Bedouins
** Mostly Arabs
*** Caucasians, Buddhists
TOTAL: 9.1 MILL. Hindi, Samaritans
 Haifa
1,155,000
Main Cities
Population (2021)

Tel Aviv (metro)

4,260,000
Jerusalem
945,000
Ashdod
230,000
Beersheva
644,000

Eilat
50,000
 Rural Poulation
7.3% of Total Population (2020)

Farmers ~ 2% of total population

AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENTS:

KIBBUTZ – COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY (1910)

MOSHAV – COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY (1921)

NON AG VILLAGES / TOWNS

 Kibbutz )113 Years ago)
COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY
Property and production means are communal

Decisions are taken by the community (General Assembly)

1909 – First Kibbutz , DEGANIA is established

NOW: 266 Kibbutzim
2% of total population
33% of agricultural produce
 MOSHAV (101 Years ago)

Houses in circle Farms behind each home

 MOSHAV Nahalal

Houses in circle Farms behind each home

 Moshav
COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY
Each farmer owns his house & farm
Decisions are taken at family level
Marketing, , acquisition of supplies & services: at community level

4.4% of population
443 moshavim
~ 100 families each
Agricultural Development in Israel
Main Constraints

Soil

Water

Labor

Market
 Value of Agriculture Production by Sector
Sheep & Goats Others
3% Citrus
4% 6%
Other Fruits 20%
Poultry
18%

Flowers & Or-

namental 4%

Dairy Livestock
14%

Field Crops
5%

Other Crops
3%

Vegetables & Potatos

23%
 Israeli’s Agriculture Today

 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION (2011)

2% of GNP

 EMPLOYMENT
2% of TOTAL LABOR FORCE

 EXPORT
19 % of TOTAL PRODUCTION
 FRESH PRODUCE
 PROCESSED FOOD

AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
(IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT, GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY,
SEEDS&CUTTINGS, PESTICIDES & FERTILIZERS, KNOW-HOW, ETC.)
 The (secret) Strength of
Israel’s agricultural sector
 The Strength of
Israel’s agricultural sector

FARMERS

IO N
AT
ER
O P
CO

EXTENSION
RESEARCH
SERVICE

INDUSTRY
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN ISRAEL
 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN ISRAEL

Institutions
ARO
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
EST. 1921
Also known as Volcani Institute

With two regional centers:

Gilat (South, Negev)
Nave Ya’ar North
Laboratories

Soil&Water Sheep&
Machinery Cattle Goats
Plant Protection Poultry

Fish
Economy of
Production
Beekeeping
The Extension
Service
In service Vegetables
Training
Cítrus Field Flowers
Engineering Fruits
Crops
Regional R&D Centers
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN ISRAEL

In addition to the ARO regional

centers, Israel has 7 peripheral R&D
(border) stations
 Why do we need 7 Agricultural R&D stations?
MANY DIFFERENCES

• Climate – TEMP. Extremes 400 – 00 minus

• Climate –RAINFALL 900 – 90 mm
• Prone to drought – Inadequate RF
• Soils – rocky, sand, saline, fertile, organic
• Irrigation H2O Quality & Supply

• Desalinated Sea H2O (Drinking H2O)

• Saline, Brackish, Wells
• Reclaimed Sewage - Irrigation(World leader)
• Borders
 Syria &
Lebanon
• Borders & Refugees
• 1948-1955
J • Population DOUBLED
O
• Absorption & Settlement Policy
GAZA
R
D • Many Refugees were settled along the
Negev R&D A borders in Agricultural Settlements
Network
N • Became “INSTANT FARMERS”
ERamat Negev • 120 Settlements in 1950
G
Y
P
T
 Syria &
Lebanon
Had to be Trained quickly
Ministry of Ag EXTENSION
J
SERVICE did the job
O
GAZA
R
D
Negev R&D A
Network
N
ERamat Negev
G
Y
P
T
Every year farmers spend thousands of $ on agricultural
inputs:
• Seeds
• Plants
• Fertilizers
• Pest control chemicals
• Machinery, labor, water
BUT
• A critical input is often ignored……
 Negev R&D….Our Target…
To provide answers to our growers

• A critical input is often ignored……

ED G E
OW L
KN
 EXTENSION SERVICE IS THE LINK

•BRING R&D TO THE FARMER

•UNBIASED
•REPEATABLE
•UNDERSTANDABLE
•PRACTICAL
 The strength of
Israel’s agricultural sector
INNOVATION
AI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE :
REACH DECISIONS QUICKLY
REDUCE ERRORS
REMOTE SENSORING
DRONES TO DETECT PROBLEMS
DRONES TO TREAT PROBLEMS
MACHINERY TO REPLACE / REDUCE HAND LABOR
WATER USE EFFICIENCY
WATER SOURCES….DESALINATION, RECYCLING WASTE H2O
AgroScout -- Detect
Treat
 TRICKLE FERTIGATION

HIGHEST PRODUCTION PER COW

PLANT PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

PROTECTED AGRICULTURE
BANANA PROTECTED FROM THE WIND
 SOILS:
SCARCE & POOR

 INTENSIVE USE
 FERTIGATION
 ALTERNATIVES
SOILLESS CULTURE Better Control Better Quality
Reduced Pesticide use
HYDROPONICS
Towards a Green Agriculture IPM
 NESTING BOX

NETTING PROTECTS CROPS

STERILE MALE MED FLY OWLS CONTROL RODENTS

Simple labor-saving tools - wagons
Sophisticated labor-saving tools
SPRAYERS AND HARVESTERS
Market Demand Generating Innovations

ISRAELI CITRUS FOR SALE

IN TORONTOI
 Changes in market demand
(ISRAEL)

Nutritional
Quality
Diversity PESTICIDE
Shape
Shelf Life

YIELD

<1970 1980 1990 2000

ATTRACTIVE COLORS AND SHAPES
NEW VARIETES, PACKAGING OF COMMON PRODUCTS
BIO-BERRIES
HI TECH FULLY CONTROLLED
MUSHROOM PRODUCTION
 The Challenges of Today
Ensure a high
Ensure food supply standard of living for
to entire population rural families

Preserve the
Protect the
rural sector & its
environment
CINADCO
community
 Innovation in Agriculture

CINADCO
SHORTAGE OF LABOR

 WORKERS FROM ABROAD

 DEVELOPMENT & ADAPTATION
OF MACHINERY
 PRECISION AGRICULTURE

Photo:Asaf Solomon
 Scares Water Resources
 Constant search for higher efficiency in water
 Development & Use of non-conventional water
resources
 Israel's guiding motto

Constraints

Challenges

Opportunities

Innovation
85 year of innovation in irrigation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxiBVQBHgPU
Crop Production
Increases Under
Water Allotment
Regime in Israel
 Sewage Recycling
• 80% of all sewage in Israel is recycled after purification
• Highest% in the world
• Purified to drininking water quality
• 31% of toal agricultre use
• 70-80% of total drinking water

Recycling Sewage
Settling & Aeration
 Water Desalination
5 desalination plants
• Saudi Arabia Desalinates Most
• Annually: 585 Million M3
• Desalination 70-80% of total drinking
water
• 5 active facilities more being planned
 Regulation and Education
• Water use was regulated to meet the scarce of water due to sever
drought twice in less than 20 years
• Educational campaign to urge people to save water
 FUN FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL

1. Israel is the only country in the world that has more trees today than it had 50 years
ago.

2. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country, including the world’s
only one underwater.

3. Voicemail technology was developed in Israel.

4. The IDF is a leader in saving people trapped by natural and man-made disasters. On
short notice, its search and rescue unit has operated in many countries (including
Mexico, Kenya, India, Turkey and the U.S.) following earthquakes, train wrecks,
collapsed buildings and terrorist attacks.

5. Israel is home to the world’s only theater company comprised entirely of deaf and
blind actors.

6. Life expectancy in Israel is among the highest in the world at 82 years.

7. Coffee and cafés are so good in Israel that it’s the only country where Starbucks
failed trying to break into the local market. (shocking right???)
8. On a per capita basis, Israel tops the list of countries when it comes to the annual
production of scientific papers.

9. First launched in Israel in 2011, bus-stop mini-libraries, offering books free of charge,
have inspired similar initiatives in other countries.

10. Two professors at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University created the first cherry tomatoes.

11. Beersheba, in Israel’s Negev desert, has the largest number of chess grandmasters per
capita than any other city in the world.

12. In 2012, Israel became the first country to prohibit the use of underweight models in
fashion shows.

13. An Israeli start-up invented a non-touch, radiation-free device, Babysense, that

prevents crib death by monitoring a baby’s breathing and movement during sleep.

14. Israel has the world’s highest rate of university degrees on a per capita basis.

15. Israel developed the technology that allowed for the original cell phone.

16. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is the world’s oldest continuously used cemetery.
17. Two Israelis at Tel Aviv University invented an “Anti-Date Rape Straw” which detects the
two most common date rape drugs placed in drinks and alerts intended victims.

18. An Israeli company developed the first ingestible video camera that helps doctors
diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.

19. Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than any other country, and it’s free.

20. The popular mobile mapping program, Waze, was developed in Israel. Google
purchased the GPS-based navigation app in 2013 for a reported $1.3 billion.

21. Passengers on Israel’s national airline El Al clap for the pilots when their flights touch
down at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

22. Despite the tough neighborhood they live in, numerous studies rank Israelis among the
happiest people among Western nations

23. The largest central bus station in the Middle East is located in Tel Aviv, Israel

24. Over a million pounds of hummus is eaten in Israel every year

25. Israel is one of 3  countries in the world that don’t have a constitution
26. If you are mailing a letter addressed to God, it will be mailed to Israel and placed in the
western wall and over 1 million notes are placed in the western wall every year

27. Israel has not only the lowest place is the world (the dead sea), but also World's lowest
freshwater reservoir, the sea of Galilei

28. The smallest desert in the world is located in Israel – Judean desert

29. Israel is one of nine countries that are members of the International Space Club and
capable of launching space satellites

30. Every year, half a billion migratory birds pass through Israel, in spring and autumn - This is
a world record

31. Israel is the third country in the world to consume chocolate per capita

32. Israel is the only country in the world that has succeeded in reviving a dead language and
using it as a national language

33. Israelis consume more fruits and vegetables relative to the population than any other
nation in the world
34. 5 out of 7 natural craters in the world are located in Israel

35. In Israel, more books are translated into the local language than in any other language or
country in the world, in relation to the number of inhabitants

Thanks you for your attention

Roy Peleg
roy@growing-smart.com
+972-50-2733925