The Moshavim Movement and Israeli Agricultural Society convened on Sunday at a conference discussing how Israeli farmers are to contend with the world financial crisis and severe drought in Israel. Heads of the agricultural sector and farmers from all over Israel participated.
Israel is currently undergoing the worst drought in the recorded history of the modern state.
Secretary-General of the Moshavim Movement, Eitan Ben David, who opened the conference, said that the emergency situation demands internal restructuring of the farmers, adding that the events of the last few months have proven that those who thought that you could depend on the free market, alone, in the economy are bound to regret it. Economic uncertainty makes it that much harder for farmers to run their business, especially in the light of the government’s reduced assistance to ease their plight.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Shalom Simhon, stated that instead of previous years where the agricultural sector would have to contend with one main crisis, the agricultural sector presently must deal with multiple factors, which are only getting worse due to the inability to obtain loans as well as the current drought and war-related damage to the south.
Tzvi Alon, CEO of the Plant Council, told the participants that while an American farmer receives on average $25,000 in government assistance, his Israeli counterpart will receive from $3,500 to $5,000 in assistance.
Professor Ayal Kimchi, head of the agronomics at the agricultural department at the Weizmann Institute presented a pessimistic forecast regarding the future for farming in Israel. Prof. Kimchi claims that the government must decide whether it really is interested in agriculture, and to conduct itself accordingly.
Lack of Jewish Laborers
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Zvi Eckstein, raised two issues. Firstly, he supports farming methods that are eco-friendly. Secondly, as head of the committee that deals with the topic, he supports decreasing dependency on foreign workers. In addition, he favors harnessing technology and supports the government’s creation of financial incentives to hire Israeli citizens.
Prof. Kimchi, in response, stated that he’d be very happy to find an Israeli willing to work in a hothouse. However, from his years of experience, the Israeli agricultural industry has been unsuccessful in recruiting Israelis for labor-intensive work.
Secretary-General of the Moshav Movement, Eitan Bar David, asked Prof. Eckstein whether he worked out the long-term consequences of not hiring foreign laborers in terms of increased costs, which might result in the agricultural sector’s collapse. A farmer’s calculation is simple: Jewish workers cost more than workers from the Far East. Bar David added that the agricultural industry is severely lacking workers which could damage the quality of the product. As a result, this would cause an additional damage to profits. Indeed, many conference participants responded that the government truly does not understand the importance of foreign workers to Israeli agriculture.
Fewer Vegetables as Drought Continues
Forecasters are predicting a severe drought for the State of Israel, with National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer reporting a shortfall of approximately 100 million cubic meters (MCM) of water. As a way of limiting water usage, this past December the Israeli Water Authority has cut back by 100 million cubic meters the amount of water that farmers are permitted to water their fields. The cutback is in addition to a previous quota issued in 2008. The Ministry of Agriculture anticipates that nearly 15,000 acres of agricultural land in the north and from 7,500 to 12,000 acres of hothouses in the center and the south will be abandoned.
There has been almost no rain at all this January – the worst dry spell recorded in the history of the modern state. Weather forecasters also have said they cannot predict any improvement in the next month or two, the last two months of the traditional winter "rainy season." In Israel, it never rains in the summer months.
Conservation efforts and a public campaign to encourage Israelis to reduce water consumption has nonetheless not been enough to stave off the shortfall, Ben-Eliezer told the Cabinet on Sunday. The Water Authority has been ordered by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to formulate an emergency plan to deal with the predicted drought expected for the summer.