Israel To India: How About A Million Olive Trees?

(Hat Tip: IsRealli, Image Credit: Wikipedia)

Housing well over a billion people within the country, the nation of India is looking for a "few good green thumbs" to help not only raise food, but provide a decent income for farmers.

Fortunately it seems as if the Asian giant is turning to its favorite ally in order to help plant a million olive trees in the northern deserts of the subcontinent.

(Times Online) The desert of Rajasthan in the north of India is to be planted with a million olive trees grown in Israel in an effort to transform the landscape and the fortunes of its struggling farmers. [...]

Israeli technology companies will be drafted in to lend their expertise on matters such as water recycling and irrigation. In their home country, Israeli scientists have been credited with "greening" the Negev desert, performing what has been termed an agricultural miracle.

Indian olive oil is likely to find a ready market in the West as there is a global shortage of the product amid rising demand.

This is not the first time Israel has assisted India, as the Israeli companies have previously assisted India in developing green houses.

Often known for their healing properties, olive trees may help boost India's economy by helping struggling farmers make a living outside of the traditional crop.

Note: Hopefully Israel can expand this opportunity towards middle eastern nations as it may help encourage stronger diplomatic relations (as its neighborhood is known for being a "bit rowdy"). :-)

Israel And Europe Reach Agriculture Trade Agreement

(Image Credit: Jerusalem Baskets)

It looks as if Israel will have an easier time exporting fruits and vegetables towards Europe thanks to a new trade agreement between the Jewish state and the European Union.

(Globes Online) The European Commission and Israel reached a common understanding today on mutual trade concessions in the fields of agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fisheries. [...]

The Delegation of the European Commission to the State of Israel's announcement said, "Once adopted, the agreement will create new trade opportunities for EU exporters in a range of products that could not previously reach the Israeli market. On the other hand, Israel's major exporting sectors will benefit from further liberalization and better market access. The result is a balanced deal ." [sic]

This should help expand Israel's agricultural market which has been gaining international attention as many countries seem to be seeking Israel's advice on raising crop--especially in hostile climates.

Israeli Greenhouses To Help India Grow More Food

(Image: Inside a Rizkalla Brothers Greenhouse, Credit: Rizkalla Brothers Limited)

If growing food is good, growing even more is definitely better.

While farmers in India have helped their nation grow the necessary items to "fill the tummy," it looks as if an Israeli company may give them an extra boost using greenhouses.

(Fresh Plaza) Rizkalla Brothers Limited, an Israel-based greenhouse manufacturer, is planning to form joint ventures with domestic strategic partners to bring its complete range of greenhouse solutions to the Indian market. The $40-million (approximately Rs 160 crore) family-run company is in talks with three business associates in the country, including one in Hyderabad, and expects to form joint ventures with them soon, Helmi Abu Much, president of Rizkalla Brothers, told Business Standard.

"Though greenhouse cultivation is still at a nascent stage in India, we expect this to grow by leaps and bounds, considering the increasing awareness among the farming community on the productive advantages through this technology", Much said, adding that the total area under greenhouse cultivation globally was estimated to be around 50,000 hectare, of which India accounted for only 200 hectare. Greenhouse cultivation offers 10 times higher productivity than in open-air cultivation.

Israel's green thumb seems to be touching the globe as they have previously aided Tibet and Nigeria, not to mention receiving some rare praise from the United Nations.

Hopefully Rizkalla Brothers Limited can give India a boost in food production, as well as spread their expertise to other regions of the planet less fortunate enough to raise their own crop.

United Nations Interested In Israel's Agricultural Expertise

(Image Credit: Flagline.com)

While the United Nations is not known for siding with Israel on every issue, one area they seem to be seeking Israel's advice on has to deal with agriculture.

With the United Nations determined to slash 50% of the world's poverty and global hunger by 2015, the organization known for passing resolutions against the Jewish state is now refusing to pass up the chance to learn from their Jewish member.

(Israel 21^st Century) The Israeli-sponsored resolution, "Agricultural technology for development," calls on developed nations to share their expertise and experience with the Third World. [...]

"Development has always been an issue of tremendous importance to Israel," Israeli counselor Ilan Fluss told the General Assembly. "Ever since it's earliest days of statehood and while still a developing nation, it has helped countless nations build capacities in a variety of fields around the world, including in our region, and to cooperate with our neighbors."

MASHAV initiatives include blindness prevention programs in Kenya and Nepal, the establishment of demonstration farms in Senegal and Kazakhstan, and micro-credit training seminars for women in rural India.

If this measure gains more favor, it could (finally) enlighten the world to Israel's compassionate side, an item that has often been over looked by more sensational news.

It could also open up other gateways, not just for Israeli's in the holy land, but for the world to rediscover what Israel is really all about.

Update: Centered photo.

Israel Helping Nigeria To Turn Deserts Into Gardens

(Hat Tip: Israel Times, Image Credit: State.gov)



An Israeli-American company has decided to partner with the nation of Nigeria in order to combat the ever spreading deserts that seem to be taking over the northern part of the country.

(Business Today Online) The projects, conceived by Framan Agridev, a Nigerian-Israeli partnership, is aimed at combating desertification across the northern part of Nigeria, provision of thousands of houses for displaced persons and creation of over two million jobs within three years.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the parties on August 20 2007 revealed that the "Desert to Food"project will gulp the sum of N1.92-trillion ($15-billion) in two years, while the "Swamp to Food" programme will gulp the sum of N256-billion ($2-billion).

Emeka Mba, FramanAgridev's managing director and group project coordinator, who spoke on the project, stated that agriculture could earn the country three-fold income than what oil could generate and that the three-tiers of government would be provided alternative sources of income through the project.

When it comes to turning deserts into gardens, Israel probably has the greatest experience in this arena, and it is good to see them sharing this know how with other countries.

Israel has already been sharing some of their secrets with Tibetan's, and hopefully the farmers of Nigeria will also pick up "a green thumb" from their Jewish friends.

Israel To Eucalyptus Groves: Our Bug Can Save You

Many countries will be thanking Israel as researchers discovered a natural way to combat a pesky wasp from hurting eucalyptus groves. Scientists traveled half way around the world in order to locate this wasp natural predator, in order to thwart the rising tide of damaged eucalyptus leaves.

(Ha'aretz.com) Several nations have already turned to Israel for information about this natural adversary. David Brand, head of the Jewish National Fund's (JNF) Department of Forestry and Development, says, "Six years ago, two species of wasps were discovered to create galls [abnormal swellings of plant tissue], thus damaging eucalyptus leaves: the Leptocybe invasa, which damages new leaves, and the Ophelimus maskelli, which damages mature leaves. Both wasps subject eucalyptus trees to continuous attack." [...]

Massive damage to eucalyptus trees compelled a team of JNF-funded scientists to launch research three years ago to identify the pest's biological adversaries. Professor Zvi Mendel of the Agriculture Ministry's Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Dr. Alex Protasov, Dr. Zion Madar, Nitza Sapir and David Brand traveled to Australia to find the wasp's natural enemy. There, they were assisted by Dr. John La Salle and Joe Krycer, a member of JNF-Australia. "It was like finding a needle in a haystack," Brand says, "because there are dozens of pests and dozens of predators."

This pesky wasp was threating eucalyptus plants in not only Israel, but India, Greece, Italy, Thailand and South Africa as well. Once it was determined that the predator only attacked that specific wasp (or rather its eggs), Israel received the green light to release it into the wild.

They are already seeing positive results and other nations are asking for this bug as well, as a loss of eucalyptus leaves translates to loss of income for many businesses.

Tibetan's Learn From Israeli Green Thumbs

(Image: Tsering Dolma working in the Arava farming settlement, Credit: Israel 21^st Century)


Farmers originally from the nation of Tibet are getting a chance to learn from some of the world's greatest minds in the agricultural field in Tel Aviv.

Although exiled in India (do to political situations), these farmers hope to share the knowledge they learn back at home, and improve life from their corner of the planet.

(Israel 21^st Century) Dolma is part of a group of 50 Tibetans who have come to Israel for a year to learn agricultural techniques from Israeli farmers. At the end of their tenure, they'll return to their homes-in-exile in India and pass along the information to fellow Tibetan community members. [...]

"Israel is a known leader in agriculture and agriculture technology. Even countries that don't have diplomatic ties with Israel send envoys to learn from our farmers. So this group is a natural extension of what Israel does well," TIFTP spokesperson Ran Natanzon told ISRAEL21c.

Israel has already trained 300 Tibetans, who believe that the agriculture industry will be critical towards their nation's survival once Tibet is liberated.

Note: This program would not have been possible if it were not for the efforts of The Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People and Israel's Forum for International Humanitarian Aid.

Biofuel Through Fungus Power?

(Image: Dr. Amir Sharon, Credit: Israel 21^st Century)


Sometimes touted as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels, biofuels have the potential to not only seriously reduce the amount of oil consumed worldwide, but pollution as well.

Unfortunately in order to do this, our species would have to convert edible food into fuel, since the non-edible parts (such as corn stalk) are much harder to convert into biofuel.

Since our fuel demands vastly outstrip our food demands, governments would probably be unlikely to consider biofuel as a serious solution. That is until an Israeli scientist discovered a little secret using nature's most useful creatures.

(Israel 21^st Century) Israeli researcher Dr. Amir Sharon of Tel Aviv University is on the trail. Sharon has discovered a transgenic fungus strong enough to convert even the most resilient plant parts into bioethanol, a chemical used for biofuel. Strengthened with an anti-death gene, this fungus is resistant to harsh conditions such as heat and toxic substances - both of which are released while converting plant biomass into ethanol. As a result, the production of ethanol using this transgenic fungus could be much more efficient than with conventional fungi.

If Israel is able to perfect this, they may not only help resolve their energy dependence woes but America's as well, as both nations are seeking ways to "go green" ASAP.

Note: It seems to me that Israel may become the very first "energy independent" nation as they are already exploring ways to turn shale and asphalt into oil and radioactive waste into useful energy.

Update: Added image credit near the top.

Fish Farming In The Desert?

(Hat Tip: Israpundit)

Although I've heard of fish farms in the US, I am quite surprised that these Israeli's were able to create one in the middle of the desert. Not to mention convince everyone to invest in this project.

(New York Times) Fish farming in the desert may at first sound like an anomaly, but in Israel over the last decade a scientific hunch has turned into a bustling business.

Scientists here say they realized they were on to something when they found that brackish water drilled from underground desert aquifers hundreds of feet deep could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proved an ideal match. [...]

"It is important to stop with the reputation that arid land is nonfertile, useless land," said Professor Appelbaum, who pioneered the concept of desert aquaculture in Israel in the late 1980s. "We should consider arid land where subsurface water exists as land that has great opportunities, especially in food production because of the low level of competition on the land itself and because it gives opportunities to its inhabitants."

What makes this story even more remarkable is the fact that scientists have found a way to reuse the water the fished were raised in (full of yucky fish waste) and irrigate farmers crops.

This not only watered the plants, but also provided an excellent source of cheap fertilizer. Hopefully they can export these techniques to third world nations, as I'm sure they would definitely appreciate it.

Israel Discovers Salinity Resistant Plant Gene

(Hat Tip: Israpundit)

Another reason why planet Earth is blessed by our kosher brethren. Israeli scientists have discovered a gene that could allow farming in marshes and other lands not suitable for growing crops.

(Israel 21^st Century) [...] Israeli researchers from the Institute of Evolution of the University of Haifa, have succeeded in isolating a gene that withstands salinity.

"The research will contribute to a significant increase in the amount of arable land available for agriculture," said the institute's director Professor Eviatar Nevo, who initiated and spearheaded the pioneering research.

Of the earth's 57 million square miles of land, approximately 12 million square miles are arable - meaning land that can be used for growing crops. However, arable land is being lost at the rate of over ten million hectares per year.

The gene is from a fungus that lives in the Dead Sea--an area ten times saltier than the oceans themselves. They have already been experimenting on injecting the gene into yeast with successful results, and hopefully will be able to expand that research into other plant organisms.

(Israel 21^st Century) The gene was introduced into 'saccharomyces cerevisiae' - better known as baker's yeast - and the team observed that resultant transgenic yeast was able to tolerate more salt than normal, especially in resisting large temperature changes. [...]

"The gene helps the fungus to balance the internal salt content of the cell through the production of the alcohol glycerol and thus prevents the fungus from drying out and helps it defend itself against salinity," said Nevo.

"I expected the gene transformation to increase the salt tolerance of the yeast. But the tolerance to high and low temperatures proved to be a surprise," he added.

This discovery has the potential of ending world hunger--or at least removing the excuse of not farming land too salty for crops. This would allow nations to grow fields of wheat next to oceans (a strange site for the human eye) and may also allow nations devastated by environmental trauma to be able to grow most of their own food instead of relying on imports for survival.