The Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentacost)
celebrates Israel’s wheat harvest and the source of the prosperity it
generates. Israel’s agricultural
technology is bringing prosperity to those nations willing to recognize the
true benevolent nature of the Jewish State.
The theme of Expo 2015, which opened in
Milan Italy on May 1st, is “feeding the planet”. Already 22,000 have visited the Israel
Pavilion and marveled at its 70-meter wall where crops grow vertically
on minimal irrigation. One week
previously, 35,000 (including 200
Gaza farmers) attended Agritech
2015 in Tel Aviv where Israel’s Netafim installed the biggest
agricultural wall in Israel. Netafim’s drip-irrigation
technology is currently growing crops that feed over a billion people.
Also on display at AgriTech was a new
technique developed by Hebrew University researchers that extends
the life of vegetables for weeks without refrigeration. In parallel to AgriTech, AgriVest
2015 at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot showcased the top
Israeli agri-tech
startups. It featured a
competition, won by Israel’s DouxMatok
for its development of sweeter sugar that reduces the amount of sugar required
in foods.
One prominent visitor to Agritech was
Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of India’s Maharashtra state. Mahasashtra is the second most populous
sub-national entity in the world, with Mumbai as its capital. Fadnavis sees Israel’s agriculture
technology as key to stemming
the appalling suicide
rate, due to poverty, of farmers in Maharashtra. Staying with India, it is working with
Israeli companies to import Israeli grafting
technology in order to improve crop yields and pest resistance whilst
reducing water usage and the indiscriminate use of fertilizers.
We now cross over to Africa to hear the
Tanzania-Israel Business and Investment Forum (TIBIF) 2015 in Dar es Salaam
discuss agribusiness
and the use of Israel's scientific and technological innovations for the
economic development of Tanzania. 1000
miles to the south, Israeli startup Platfarm
is running a pilot in Zimbabwe of its platform for farmers in developing
countries to improve their production and delivery to buyers.
Back home in Israel, technology is helping
to maintain the high quality of Israeli agricultural exports. Whilst most exporters perform only random
checks on their produce, Israeli fruit exporter Eshet Eilon inspects every
piece of fruit for quality and ripeness.
It uses spectral
imaging at a rate of five tons an hour and rejects anything that
contains disease or fungus. Meanwhile,
Israel’s Pointer Software Systems has developed Pickapp, which provides farm managers
with real-time tracking of the progress of harvesting and the quality
of the produce harvested.
Israeli farms don’t just produce crops;
they also include fish
farms, such as those built by Israel’s LivinGreen. During the past year, LivinGreen led an
educational project in Ghana,
building fish farms from local materials.
LivinGreen also participated in projects in Ethiopia and China.
It is also traditional to consume dairy
products during the Shavuot festival.
So it is timely that Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture has just released
the latest figures regarding Israel’s
milk production. Despite a 21%
drop in the number of dairy farms since 2005, milk production has increased by
59%. Milk yield per cow in Israel is
the highest in the world.
So I hope you enjoy this video of how
Israeli agricultural produce (grapes, tomatoes, wheat, olives, fish, milk,
dates and pomegranates) is transformed “from field to fork” into a healthy and
tasty culinary experience.
Israeli companies are already heavily
involved in futuristic agricultural innovations. Take for example Melodea and Valentis, who demonstrated their
technology at Imaginenano 2015 in Bilbau Spain, Europe’s largest nanotechnology
conference. Both are using cellulose
nanocrystals to make a variety of groundbreaking products out of plant-derived
waste. And Israel’s White
Innovations are just one year away from launching the Genie – a 3D printer that
“prints” nutritious
cooked meals.
Finally, the story has just emerged about
how Israel prevented a major terrorist attack during the summer conflict with
Hamas. A Hamas terrorist cell planned
to use a wheat
field to camouflage the exit hole from their tunnel into Israel. However, some religious Jews from Bnei Brak
purchased the wheat just a few days prior to the planned attack. The Jews wanted to make “Shmura” (guarded)
Matzo for Passover and had to harvest it quickly. When the terrorist cell emerged into the now barren field, they
were easily spotted by the IDF, who dealt swiftly and decisively with the
threat.
Keep rooting for Israel and reap the rewards.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
