Israel’s
agro-technology industry is characterized by intensive research and development
of innovative system, rooted in the need to overcome local scarcities of water
and arable land . They
industry’s growth arose from the close cooperation among
researchers. Extension agents , farmers and agriculture related industries,
cooperative efforts that led to breakthrough achievements. These in turn have
fostered a market-oriented agribusiness that exports its agro-technology
solution worldwide. The result is modern agriculture methods. Systems and
products in a country where more than half the area is dessert
Israeli
agriculture is seen as a world-class example of the ability of advanced technology
to change a semi-arid land, with serious security problems, into one of the
great success stories of world agriculture.
Some facts
& figures :
Ø Agricultural productivity in Israel has grown by a factor of 10
since the
Ø 1950’s, while the amount of water used in agriculture has been
substantially reduced, as have labor inputs.
Ø Through advanced technology, Israel has reached record highs in
productivity per unit for dairy cattle, cotton, olives, and other products.
Ø Israel’s agricultural technology and broad range of know-how, has
become a well-known brand-name for success in the agricultural world.
Ø Agricultural technology accompanied by Israeli management has
become a sought-after product in world agriculture
Ø Israeli remains well known for breakthrough technology in advanced
irrigation, greenhouse systems, vegetable seeds, plant protection and pest
management, computerized monitoring and control, and more.
Ø 200 Agro-technology Exporters
Ø US$4B - Export turnover
Ø Labor Force - decreased in the last 60 years from 17% to 2.6%
Ø Cultivated Land - decreased by 20%
Ø Fresh Water Usage- decreased by 50%
Ø Product’s Value/1m3 increased from $0.5 up to $4
Ø Most exports of agricultural inputs are based on decades of
development of technology and know-how, in search of solutions for Israeli
agricultural constraints: scarcity of water and manpower.
Ø Scale of this agritechnology is based on Israel’s capacity for
development and marketing – it is not limited by natural resources. Israeli
companies sell “Israeli smarts” in the form of agricultural inputs.
Ø In most cases, exports come from innovations developed for Israeli
agriculture, which has served as the testing station and the trial fields for
the technology that is exported.
Expertise
v Irrigation
Israel is the most advanced user of
agriculture irrigation, with over half of all agriculture land under
irrigation. Israel’s highly innovative irrigation industry has earned a
worldwide reputation with more than 80% of the products line are exported. Israel pioneered innovative irrigation
technologies, systems and accessories, such as drip irrigation, automatic
valves and controllers, media and automatic filtration, low discharge valves,
mini-sprinklers and compensated drippers.
The Israeli developed
computer-controlled drip irrigation system save huge quantities of water and
also provide the abilities to supply fertilization with the water, Israel
irrigation system are used worldwide
•
Israeli
companies hold 30% of the global market
•
Only 12% of the
world irrigation is through drip irrigation
•
More than 80%
of Israel’s irrigation products are exported
•
Second most
important sector for exports of agricultural inputs
•
Developed in
order to deal with Israel water scarcity, costs, quality, recycling, and
shortage of labor
•
As a result,
Israel became world leader in advanced irrigation and “the brand” for
irrigation
•
International
concerns have invested in Israel and bought Israeli companies; Israeli firms
produce domestically and abroad
v Greenhouse
Natural restrictions of soil, water and climate led to Israeli-developed
greenhouse technologies for high added value crops.
Greenhouse systems, including specialized plastic films, heating, ventilation
and structure
systems, enable Israeli farmers to achieve superior results.
Grow more than 3,000,000 roses per hectare per season.
Average of 300 tons of tomatoes per hectare per season, four times
the yields of open fields.
•
Developed
specialized greenhouses for Israeli climatic conditions
•
Improved
export-quality crops and saved water
•
Israeli
greenhouses models and technology for operating systems is marketed worldwide
v Post-Harvest
•
Maintaining
appearance and nutritional value is key to profitability, especially in a world
where produce often travels thousands of miles before consumption.
•
An Israeli
fruit and vegetable rinsing appliance reduces fresh citrus losses from 15
percent to less than two percent.
•
By appropriate
post-harvest treatment, including washing and cleaning, application of
sanitizing and dis-infestation materials, sorting by size and quality, and
application of wax coatings and plant growth regulators where required,
freshness can be maintained over long journeys.
•
In addition,
advanced, product-specific packaging helps preserve and protect produce, as do
sophisticated modified atmosphere (MA) and controlled atmosphere (CA) cooling
systems ,minimizes post-harvest losses, maximizes producer profits, and results
in better appearing, more nutritious fruits and vegetables on consumer plates
v Dairy Farming
•
Israeli-developed
advanced technologies that have revolutionized the industry.
•
Israel’s dairy
exports include frozen semen, embryos for transplant, heifers, advanced milking
and computerized feeding systems, consulting, and joint international project
•
development.
•
Average milk
production has increased two and a half times since the 1950s – from 3,900
liters annually to an average of nearly 11,000 liters per dairy cow.
•
Developed to
deal with shortage of production resources, harsh and hot climate, labor
shortage, and need for self-supply of basic foodstuffs
•
Result is the development of most advanced
technology for the dairy sector, marketed throughout the world
v Poultry Farming
Israeli-developed
innovations improve production and make poultry farmers’ work more efficient.
•
Breeding -
Breeds developed in Israel are highly disease-resistant, and adaptable to
extreme climate conditions (high humidity & extreme heat). They are
characterized by rapid growth rate, high egg production and low-fat meat.
•
Equipment -
Israel exports automatic egg collector, poultry drinking systems and durable
plastic-slat flooring that contribute to hygienic conditions in the henhouse.
•
Control System
- Sophisticated control systems maintain desired levels of humidity, heat,
lighting, feed, ventilation and cooling 24 hours a day.
v Aquaculture
•
Fish farming is
carried out in the open sea in floating cages and in man-made reservoirs and
ponds.
•
Due to the lack
of fresh water, fish farmers use closed water systems for intensive farming.
•
Wide range of
ornamental fish and marine plants are bred, including cold water fish, tropical
fish and water lilies, exported overseas, especially to Europe.
•
Israel is a
world leader in Commercial Microalgae Cultivation with state-of the art
production processes and technologies to maximize the efficiency of production
and to allow for a high quality line of products, eliminating the risk of
microbiological contamination.
v Seeds
Israeli
seeds and seedlings are widely sought on the world market.
•
colored cotton
& high-yield crops requiring less water Disease-resistant seed varieties
that remain durable when stored and are suited to a variety of climatic
conditions
•
40% of European
tomato greenhouses use seeds of a long shelf-life hybrid that was developed in
Israel
•
Seedless
watermelon
•
Disease-resistant
squash
•
Yellow zucchini
•
A variety of
hybrid cotton with longer & stronger fibers , colored cotton &
high-yield crops requiring less water
v Mechanization
Israel
manufactures and exports a variety of specialized agricultural equipment,
including:
•
Mobile celery
packing house
•
Machinery for
packing houses
•
Machinery for
digging silage and mixing the feed uniformly
•
Poultry
equipment (drinkers, automatic egg collectors, climate control systems and
scales for weighing)
•
Flower bulb
trans-planters
•
Air-blast
Sprayers for use in citrus growing and
•
vineyards which
provides an efficient cover of the tree
v Fertilizers
Israel’s southern region, particularly
the Dead Sea area, is rich in mines providing potassium, phosphorus and
magnesium for the agricultural sector.
•
Direct raw material
exports
•
Local
processing and compounding to enhance utility, effectiveness and environmental
safety
•
Remarkable
developments include:
ü Application of fertilizers through drip irrigation buried in the
ground to ensure that less mobile components, such as phosphorous, will reach
the roots directly.
ü Controlled-release Fertilizers – coated in polymers to ensure
slow, prolonged
ü release and delivery via diffusion. Slow release fertilizers allow
better exploitation of the fertilizer and less groundwater pollution.
v Turnkey Projects, Engineering & Consulting
Increasingly,
Israeli Agro-technology companies join forces and supply turnkey
projects
for both crop and livestock development programs.
Multiple
skills, talents and experiences are enlisted to provide integrated solutions
that embrace:
•
Soil
•
Water Additive
•
Plants
•
Livestock
Varieties, Equipment and Structures
The
Results:
•
Improved Yields
at Lower Cost
•
A win-win
situation in a resource-stressed world