DALLAS, Texas — Israel has grown immensely in terms of social and economic influence as of late. Focus on foreign investment and resources has increased during the past few decades. The country approved a pipeline deal with Europe in August 2020 to use Tamar deposits to supply natural gas to the continent. With these changes, there is another area that has seen improvements: Israel’s agriculture.
Agricultural Growth in Israel
In terms of the economy, one of the most important areas of growth is agriculture. Considering that the country is partially desert and has an arid climate with brief periods of rain, one would assume that it would be difficult to grow crops efficiently. However, since 2012, the GDP of Israel’s agriculture has reached heights of 4600,00 ILS million and has consistently fluctuated around 3500,00 ILS million. While efforts of farming have had residents work to adapt around the natural setting, recent endeavors have focused on new methods of farming as well as technologies and deals that have led to the agricultural economy becoming even more prevalent.
Ways of Agriculture
Even before entering the global landscape, Israel used kibbutz, collective agricultural communities based on sharing resources and land, because of the lack of land and water for self-sustaining induvial farming. With the growth of Israel as a country, a lot of money has gone into exporting products from the country. But, more go into imports.
In 2019, $2,182 million went into agriculture exports while $6,786 million went into imports. With this, there is an incentive to focus on improving the produce and food sold within and outside the country. In 2019, the sales of Israeli Fast Moving Consumer Goods totaled more than $13 billion with $9 billion consisting of food in retail. Also, with exports, there is the concern whether a certain product will pass the standardization of other countries. This results in trade deficits in food and agriculture products as well as imports of grain and consumer-oriented agriculture products.
Processing food has risen to become a major part of the economy. According to International Trade Administration, the annual revenue in 2019 was around $18.6 billion and represented around 17% of the country’s revenue in manufacturing. A lot of the revenue is the result of Israeli companies working with multi-national food companies like Nestle and Pepsi Co.
Imports place agriculture in a tough spot considering that, while they are stable, they are outclassed by other industries due to natural inhibitions. So, focusing on improving practices with technology and working with other countries regarding agriculture makes sense. The rise of the tech industry and support by communities have made these efforts successful. This has been the direction the country has taken since around 4.3% of its overall GDP and 17% of the agricultural budget goes to research and development as well as cooperation between other farmers.
Many companies and startups have begun investing in technology and creating new ways to ensure the growth of the industry. For example, the company Tevel has invested in the use of drones to harvest fruit. The founder, Yaniv Maor, also plans to use this technology to assist in labor shortages and to capitalize on the short period of harvesting each year.
Alongside the rise of tech companies, there has also been the creation of an innovation center. Located near the community of Ashalim in the Ramat Negev region, the planning and opening of the center had $5 million in funding. The company Arieli Capital has worked with the local Ramat Negev Regional Council and Ramat Negev Industries. One of the first projects will be an agriculture tech (agtech) center with an accelerator program to ensure that a fast-paced environment of new technology will be created and sustained. This will also allow innovators to have access to experts in the field and other research and development areas.
Recently, the country signed the first cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates since the Abraham Accords. The UAE has a similar climate to Israel with imports making up around 80% of the food in the country. New tech and partnerships are necessary for the UAE if it wants to ensure proficiency. It doesn’t help that food transport cost has increased. The pandemic has further complicated these deals. However, this allows Israel to work with UAE to both improve its situation and the general relations between the two countries.
Companies like Vertical Field and Netafim have also signed agreements beforehand to allow the use of their technology in the UAE. The fact that multiple companies can invest in different avenues is a sign of the effectiveness of technology in assisting the improvement of Israeli agriculture.
India has also been a consistent collaborator regarding agriculture. The two countries signed a three-year agreement this year for further development of agriculture. The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-Camp) has organized an Agri Grand Challenge to address issues in the Indian sector of farming. The agreement looks to find new technology to “enhance the shelf life of produce” and minimize losses from outside issues. One of these is the white stem borer infestation that has affected coffee crops immensely.
The collaboration of the two countries will bring forth new ways of combating prevalent obstacles. An issue in Israel can be solved in India, and vice versa. The benefits of a cultural and shared relationship can reap massive rewards if properly managed and cared for.
Between the technology and deals with foreign nations, Israel’s agriculture has managed to set itself up to grow past its limitations. The country is now in a position to ensure the continual growth of its industry in ways that will provide stability. Modernization can help foreign countries when under the control and direction of the government and citizens who benefit from the changes. It also ensures that the new technology is shared with other countries that have similar issues.
– John Dunkerley