Learning water-saving agriculture from Israeli culture

It is Israel's 'water-saving culture', along with technology and finance, that has helped the country develop cutting-edge irrigation ideas.

Agriculture in the Age of Aridity

On the morning of May 10, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a workshop on “Israel’s experience in desert farming”. The workshop was held in person and online in 43 provinces and cities, 71 connecting points to share Israel’s experience in agricultural development in the context of climate change, natural disasters, and drought and salinity.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan shared his impressive experiences during his first visit to Israel and witnessed the development of desert agriculture, signs of a small country in terms of area but with great innovations.

On the morning of May 10, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a workshop on “Israel’s experience in desert farming”. Photo: Thao Phuong.

From there, Minister Le Minh Hoan hopes that, through the Workshop, Vietnam's agricultural sector can learn from the world's leading agricultural exporting country, especially in the field of exporting high-tech agricultural technology and equipment.

“Vietnam has a proud history of being a water-rich country, but in the face of severe climate change, we now need solutions for agricultural production technology in conditions of water shortage. In the dry era, the world is facing the risk of water shortage. Therefore, what Israel is doing has brought hope to countries including Vietnam to turn the abnormal into the normal,” said Minister Le Minh Hoan.

At the workshop, Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Yaron Mayer said that Israel has faced many problems such as drought, water scarcity... however, with the perspective of turning challenges into opportunities with the support of technology, Israel is no longer water scarce and can provide water for agriculture and other activities.

The Israeli Ambassador said that in order to ensure people's livelihoods and develop agriculture, the country has developed and applied a number of core technologies such as water-saving technology, mist irrigation, water reuse, desalination of seawater into fresh water and construction of water storage infrastructure. Ambassador Mayer also said that to promote water resource protection, the country has also promoted a campaign to raise people's awareness of water conservation.

Experience in creating multiple water sources from Israel

Sharing at the Workshop, Mr. Gal Saf, Israel's Trade Counselor, cited data from the World Resources Institute, saying that 45% of the world's population will live in conditions of freshwater shortage by 2050. With such a context of freshwater pressure, Israel also faces some disadvantages in terms of water resources that the country has to face from its geographical location (60% is desert); the large demand for water supply to serve 9 million people, irrigating 200,000 hectares of agricultural land, especially during severe and prolonged droughts.

To overcome the difficult situation, Israel has launched a "parallel action" campaign to create more water through reuse, recycling and desalination... At the same time, use less water from available water sources for agricultural production such as using drip irrigation technology, greenhouse technology, and membrane houses.

Minister Le Minh Hoan hopes that through the Workshop, Vietnam's agricultural sector can learn from the world's leading agricultural exporting country.

In addition, Israel also advocates creating many "water channels" thanks to the Government's involvement, from which there are regulations on reusing treated wastewater for agriculture, brackish water for agriculture and industry, and desalinating seawater and brackish water.

Ambassador Yaron Mayer affirmed that Israel has cooperated with India and Vietnam on drip irrigation and crop rotation models and technologies. Israel is very willing to share core technologies with Vietnam as well as provide financial support and investment through Israeli technology companies.

According to Ambassador Yaron Mayer, Vietnam has many highly specialized research institutes and through the visit of the Israeli delegation including leading companies in water, irrigation and agriculture to the provinces and cities of Vietnam, the Israeli side will have a specific picture of each region and from there can seek specific cooperation opportunities.

Ambassador Yaron Mayer shared at the Workshop. Photo: Thao Phuong.

From the experiences shared by experts at the Workshop, Minister Le Minh Hoan shared his impressions with the keyword “water saving culture” of the Israeli people. The Minister believes that if technology and finance are sufficient conditions, then the spirit, will, and culture of saving water are necessary conditions for Israel to bring core technologies such as drip irrigation technology.

The Minister believes that it is necessary to change the mindset of agriculture that trades off water and land resources to achieve high productivity. Accordingly, the problem of costs for agriculture needs to be reconsidered, although it is not an easy journey due to long-standing farming practices.

“It is necessary to help people understand and be aware that water is no longer a finite resource and that over-exploitation of water has caused consequences without adequate warnings about this issue,” said the Minister.

The Minister proposed that the parties conduct research together to prepare for a more in-depth workshop on water-saving agriculture, perspectives from Israel and lessons for Vietnam.

The leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development asked Israel to support the agricultural sector in making decisions to change the approach to water-scarce agriculture.

The Israeli Ambassador said that in order to ensure people's livelihoods and develop agriculture, the country has developed and applied a number of core technologies such as water-saving technology and mist irrigation. Photo: TL.

With the advantages of the historical relationship between the two countries and the Vietnam - Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) signed from 2023, Minister Le Minh Hoan suggested that Ambassador Yaron Mayer discuss with the Israeli Minister of Agriculture about renewing the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two Ministries of Agriculture from 2016, including the content of agricultural cooperation in the context of water scarcity, water-saving irrigation...

In addition, the Minister also suggested that Israel increase exchange and study programs for Vietnamese agricultural interns, so that international students can live and study in the farm and cooperative environment in Israel. This will be a source of quality agricultural human resources in the future.

The Minister also suggested that experts from Israel bring the concept of micro-irrigation to Vietnam, starting with small, simple models and expanding the model from the initial results. In addition, support the localization of Israeli irrigation technologies produced in Vietnam at reasonable prices to create conditions for Vietnamese farmers to easily access these technologies.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/hoc-hoi-nong-nghiep-tiet-kiem-nuoc-tu-van-hoa-cua-israel-d385670.html