Agriculture in Israel
Agriculture in Israel is a highly developed industry: Israel is a major exporter of fresh produce and a world-leader in agricultural technologies. This is so despite the fact that the geography of Israel is not naturally conducive to agriculture. More than half of the land area is desert, and the climate and lack of water resources do not weigh in favor of farming. Only 20% of the land area is naturally arable.[1] Today agriculture represents 2.5% of total GDP and 3.6% of exports.[2] While agricultural workers make up only 3.7% of the work force, Israel produces 95% of its own food requirements, supplementing this with imports of grain, oil seeds, meat, coffee, cocoa and sugar.[2] Israel is home to two unique types of agricultural communities, the kibbutz and moshav, which developed as Jews from all over the world immigrated to the country and embarked on a pioneering enterprise largely motivated by Zionism.
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[edit] History
Some of the earliest records of agriculture were in the land which now makes up Israel, making use of water resources which were and remain to this day, scarce.[2] Modern agriculture developed in the late nineteenth century, when Jews began returning to the land.[2] They purchased land which was mostly semi-arid, although much had been rendered untillable by deforestation, soil erosion and neglect.[2] They set about clearing rocky fields, constructing terraces, draining swampland, reforesting, counteracting soil erosion, and washing salty land.[2] Since independence in 1948, the total area under cultivation has increased from 408,000 acres (165,000 ha.) to 1.07 million acres (435,000 ha.), while the number of agricultural communities has increased from 400 to 725. Agricultural production has expanded 16 times, three times more than population growth.[2]
Water is a resource which is in increasing demand in the country with rain falling only between November and April, with an uneven distribution across the country, from 28 inches (70 cm) in the north to less than 2 inches (5 cm) in the south.[2] Annual renewable water resources are about 5.6 billion cubic feet (1.6 billion cu. m.), of which 75% of which is used for agriculture.[2] Most of Israel's freshwater sources have been consequently joined to the National Water Carrier, network of pumping stations, reservoirs, canals and pipelines which transfers water from the north south.[2] The area of irrigated farmland in the country has increased from 74,000 acres (30,000 ha) in 1948 to some 460,000 acres (186,400 ha) today.[2]
[edit] Agriculture in Israel today
The importance of agriculture in Israel's economy has fallen over time, accounting for decreasing values of GDP. In 1979, it accounted for just under 6% of GDP, in 1985 5.1%, and today, 2.5%.[3] In 1995, there were 43,000 farm units with an average size of 13.5 hectares. 19.8% of these were smaller than 1 hectare, 75.7% were 1 to 9 hectares in size, 3.3% were between 10 and 49 hectares, 0.4% were between 50 and 190 hectares, and 0.8% were larger than 200 hectares.[3] Of the 380,000 hectares under cultivation in 1995, 20.8% was under permanent cultivation and 79.2% under rotating cultivation.[3] Farm units included 160,000 hectares used for activities other than cultivation. Cultivation was based mainly in the northern coastal plains, the hills of the interior, and the upper Jordan Valley.[3]
In 2006, agricultural output in Israel fell by 0.6% following a 3.6% rise in 2005, whilst inputs for this year rose by 1.2% excluding wages.[4] Between 2004 and 2006, vegetables consistently saw the greatest outputs, accounting for around 35% of total agricultural output.[4] Flowers made up around 20%, field crops made up around 18%, fruits (other than citrus), around 15%, and citrus fruits around 10%.[4] In 2006, 36.7% of agricultural output was for domestic consumption, 33.9% for domestic manufacturing, and 22% for direct export.[4] In 2006, 33% of vegetables, 27% of flowers, 16% of field crops, 15.5% of fruits other than citrus, and 9% of citrus fruits were exported.[4]
[edit] Farm types
Most of Israel's agriculture is based around co-operative principles, which evolved during the start of the twentieth century.[2] Two unique forms of agricultural settlements; the kibbutz, a collective community in which the means of production are communally owned and each member's work benefits all; and the moshav, a farming village where each family maintains its own household and works its own land, while purchasing and marketing are conducted co-operatively.[2] Both communities provided a means not only to realise the dream of the pioneers to have rural communities based on social equality, co-operation and mutual aid but also to gain agricultural output in a productive means.[2] Today, between kibbutzim and moshavim, 76% of the country's fresh produce is output, as well as many processed food products.[2]
[edit] Agricultural produce
[edit] Crops
Due to the diversity of the land and climate across the country, Israel is able to grow a wide range of crops. Field crops grown in the country include wheat, sorghum and corn. On 215,000 hectares of land, these sorts of crops are grown, 156,000 hectares of which are winter crops.[5]
Fruit and vegetables grown include citrus, avocados, kiwifruit, guavas and mangoes from orchards located on the Mediterranean coastal plain.[2] Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zucchini are grown commonly throughout the country, whilst melons are grown during winters months in the valleys.[2] Subtropical areas in the country produce bananas and dates, whilst in the northern hills apples, pears and cherries are grown.[2] Furthermore, grape vineyards are found across the country, as the country's wine industry has developed to become a world-player.[2]
In 1997, $107 million worth of cotton was grown in Israel with most of this sold in advance on the futures market. The crop is grown on 28,570 hectares of land, all of which is drip irrigated. 5.5 tons per hectare of raw cotton is averaged for the Acala crop whilst the Pima crop averages 5 tons per hectare, which are yields amongst the highest in the world.[5]
[edit] Livestock
All of the Israel's milk consumption originates from dairy farms within the country with most herds consisting largely of Israel-Holsteins, a high-yielding, disease-resistant breed. Furthermore, sheep milk is exported. In terms of poultry which makes up two thirds of meat consumption, 85% originate from moshavim.[2]
[edit] Fishing and aquaculture
The Mediterranean Sea sees salt-water fishing whilst freshwater fishing occurs on Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). Pioneering technology being developed in the Negev desert in the south are seeing fish grown in kibbutzim and artificial lakes.[2]
Commercial fishing in the eastern Mediterranean has declined significantly due to depletion of fish reserves and the supply of fresh fish in Israel depends almost entirely on aquaculture. Fish from the Sea of Galilee include silver carp, grass carp, grey mullet, St. Peter’s fish, rock bass, silver perch, and Asian seabass introduced from Australia. Fish grown in cages submerged in the sea include gilthead seabream (called denis in Israel), European sea bass and a South American variety of meager. Trout and salmon are raised in special canal-like ponds of running water of the Dan River, a tributary of the Jordan River.[6]
[edit] Fruit
Israel is one of the world's leading fresh citrus producers and exporters, [7] including oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and the pomelit, a hybrid of a grapefruit and a pomelo, developed in Israel.[8]
More than forty types of fruit are grown in Israel, in addition to citrus, and include avocados, bananas, apples, cherries, plums, nectarines, grapes, dates, strawberries, prickly pear (tzabbar), persimmon, loquat (shesek) and pomegranates.[9] Israel is the leading producer of loquat (shesek) after Japan.[10]
[edit] Flowers
Mostly exported, Israel produces vast quantities of flowers, and is placed amongst the world's largest flower-growing countries. Flower exports in 2000 exceeded $50 million.[11] The flowers grown most commonly are wax flowers, followed by roses, which are grown on 214 hectares of land.[11]
[edit] Agricultural technology
Israel is a world leader in agricultural Research and Development which have led to dramatic increases in the quantity and quality of the country's crops. The drive to increase yields and crop quality has led to the development of new seed and plant varieties, as well as to innovations such as a soil-enhancing substance (vermiculite) which, when mixed with local soils, boosts crop yields, and drip irrigation.[2]
[edit] Government
Farm surpluses have been almost eradicated in the country with farms having production and water quotas for each crop which have stabilised prices.[2] Production quotas apply to milk, eggs, poultry and potatoes.[2] Government also encourage a reduction in agricultural costs trying to encourage specialised farming, and halting of production of crops for which no sufficiently profitable markets exist.[2] The Ministry of Agriculture oversees the country's agricultural sector, including maintenance of standards of plant and animal health, agricultural planning, and research and marketing.[2]
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Agriculture in Israel |
[edit] References
- ^ Israel Peri-urban Agriculture
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Agriculture in Israel". http://www.israel-embassy.org.uk/web/pages/agrisrel.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ a b c d Agriculture in Israel
- ^ a b c d e Microsoft Word - covers.doc
- ^ a b "Israel - Agriculture". http://library.thinkquest.org/26823/agriculture.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Gur, Jana, The Book of New Israeli Food, pg. 138
- ^ Citrus fruit: biology, technology and evaluation, Milind S. Ladaniya
- ^ Israeli fruit hybrid lowers cholesterol
- ^ Gur, pp. 176-179
- ^ Loquat fruit facts
- ^ a b "Israel as a flower exporting country". http://www.flowers-israel.net/SitePage.aspx?PageID=1165. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
