Technology Can Expand PHL’s Agricultural Potential says Israeli Official

Quezon City — Technology can expand the Philippine’s agricultural production, and with its natural endowments, the country can do wonderful things in its crop and livestock industries, an Israeli official said on Wednesday.

In a separate statement released during the an agriculture seminar being conducted by the embassy, Israeli Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau said that Israel “is a traditional partner for the Philippines in agricultural sector, with years of exchanges in development programs to support food security and poverty reduction in rural communities.”

The embassy has invited its Beijing-based agricultural attaché, Eitan Neubauer, to conduct a simultaneous in Manila and Davao on trends and innovations in Israel horticulture, dairy and livestock, and aquaculture.

In one of his discussions, Neubauer listed several agricultural innovations Israel has developed “out of necessity” citing the country’s lack of water and extremely limited arable land available for agriculture.

The list included the technology of water creation for agriculture. About “90 percent of sewerage in Israel is treated for re-use, and 60 percent of agricultural water comes from this sewerage,” according to Neubauer.

Shafdan, a water-treatment plant, uses a unique method of using the natural filtration qualities of sand in order to improve the quality of sewage. After wastewater is purified in an ordinary facility, it is recharged into the ground, where it undergoes an additional, natural filtration in the sands of Rishon Letzion and Yavne.

“This improves the quality of the water such that it can ultimately be used safely for all forms of irrigation,” he said, adding that a portion of the sewage goes to the Negev desert, through a 90 kilometers-long pipe, which was mainly responsible for turning the dessert into an agricultural area.

Another of these of these innovation is “precise irrigation” according to Neubauer, explaining that long and tiny networks of small tubes are fed to agricultural crops delivering nutrient-rich waters.

In developing crops, Israel ventured into developing vegetables and fruits that can withstand the harsh environment of the country, enabling them to produce a new species of melon, galia, a cross between the sturdy cantaloupe and the sweeter but more prone to damage honeydew, he added.

The same technology was responsible for producing “tomatoes with shelf-life of up to 20 days,” Neubauer said.

The Israeli agricultural expert also said that Israel has ventured on an extensive production of milk and fish, explaining that dairy and aquaculture needs smaller areas of land.

He also said that Israeli farmers are more flexible, moving from different crops, whatever is locally of globally in-demand, adding that at present, Israel’s main agricultural imports are cereal, beef and sugar, while it main export consist of vegetables, fruit and cut-flowers. The country is self-sustainable but sometimes export poultry products and dairy.

“In Israel, water is a national resource, an Israeli farmer can only get a pre-determined quota of water for irrigation for a fee, somewhat exorbitant fee, and this farmer needs to grow enough crops out of that quota,” he said, explaining limited water in Israel is, but despite that, the country is a major agricultural exporting nation.

He also said that unlike the Philippines, Israel has a very limited domestic market owing to its small population, hence, they have to access the global market to encourage their agricultural sector.

Last year, the Israeli ambassador to the Philippines said that with the right technology, the country can turn its farm sector into a main growth driver.

In 1948, Matityau said, Israel started to export 500 million pieces of oranges annually, and after almost six decades, the country can still export the same volume without additional arable land.

“Agriculture sometimes is a liability, but at the same time, a provider of hope. The apparent contradiction is because of the high employment it provides, but sometimes, produces a very limited share in a country’s gross domestic product [GDP],” he said.

“This should not be the case because based on [Israel’s] experience, agriculture is highly lucrative,” Matityau added.

Matityau said Israel and the Philippines have a long-standing relation in agriculture. He said the new system being used in strawberry farms in Baguio City is very similar to what they are doing in Israel, adding that he would not be surprised if those behind its origin are products of an agriculture cooperation between the two countries.

Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, has worked with several universities in northern Philippines via its education program. Under Mashav, some 3,000 Filipinos have already been given scholarship on agricultural courses. The program also provides courses on community development, medicine and public health, environment, science and technology, education and women empowerment.

Currently, there are 543 Filipino students from 26 state colleges from all over the country who are participating in an eleven month agro-studies program in Israel, according to a statement from the embassy. (ASD/Media ng Byan, OpCen)