Massachusetts Agricultural Mission to Israel and Holland 



by Diane Baedeker 



Since the dawn of civilization, Israel has been a 

 crossroads and a battlefield sitting at the junction of 

 Europe, Asia and Africa. It is a country and a people that 

 has learned much about destruction, rebuilding and sur- 

 vival in a hostile climate. 



History books tell us that this is the birthplace of 

 agriculture. Flint sickles have been found dating back to 

 14,000 to 7500 BC, the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) 

 period suggesting that man had progressed from gather- 

 ing plants to cultivating them. What have the Israehs 

 learned in those many thousand of years? What can we 

 learn from them and what can they learn from us? 



In search of an answer to these question, sixteen 

 members of the Massachusetts agricultural community 

 journeyed to Israel on January 23, 1988. The members 

 were from a variety of backgrounds - growers. Coopera- 

 tive Extension agents, and Massachusetts Department of 

 Food and Agriculture staff. 



The 12-day trip was planned and hosted by the 

 Department of Food and Agriculture at the invitation of 

 the Israel Ministry of Agriculture. The tour was ex- 

 panded to include Holland, a country with a climate more 

 similar to ours that has made much progress in extended 

 season growing, hydroponics and marketing. 



The group departed New York's Keimedy Airport by 

 way of a Pan Am shuttle flight from Boston and a transfer 

 to the international terminal. Security boarding El Al, the 

 nation airhne of Israel, was very tight. The Intefadeh or 

 Palestinian uprising had begun one month earher. 



Each passenger was interrogated before being al- 

 lowed to proceed to the gate area: Who packed your 

 suitcase? Did anyone give you anything, such as a suit- 

 case, package or letter, to take aboard the plane? How 

 well do you know the people you are travelling with? Why 

 do you want to go to Israel? Who paid for your trip? Do 

 you really make enough money to pay for this trip your- 

 self? Who do you Uve with? What nationality are they? 

 The hne of questioning that I received seemed more 

 probing than the others in the group reported. I must 

 have fit a certain profile of which they were suspicious. 



Israel 



When the Boeing 747 landed in Tel Aviv, I noticed 

 cultivated date palms growing right up to the edge of the 

 runway at Ben Gurion Airport. This was a portent of 

 what we would find to be the basis of Israeh agriculture: 

 making the most of limited resources. 



Climate 



The climate of Israel is rather different from that of 

 New England. The country, which is about the size of 

 New Jersey, encompasses several climatic zones: 

 Mediterranean climate, Steppe climate, desert climate, 

 and extreme desert climate. The temperature in the fer- 

 tile coastal zone ranges from the mid-forties to the mid- 

 sixties in January. It was in the upper half of that range 

 while we were there. 



Although the cUmate is warm by New England stand- 

 ards, Israeh farmers do extend their season through the 

 use of greenhouses and plastic coverings. Israel is self- 

 supporting for most of its food supply so winter crops are 

 important. 



Crops are uncovered during the warm days and 

 recovered at night. When the plastic is removed for the 

 season, it is burned, leaving black charred areas on the 

 ground and plastic fragments to be blown away by the 

 wind. 



Types of Farm Establishments 



In the northern Hadera region, we visited green- 

 houses on both types of Israeh farm establishments - the 

 Moshave and the Kibbutz. The moshave is analogous to 

 our farming system. It is a community of families that 

 work their own land but market their products coopera- 

 tively. The kibbutz is a cooperative farming settlement 

 where the residents labor for the whole community. Each 

 resident is given lodging and spending money in return. 

 Kibbutz decisions are communal and education is 

 provided for the children. 



We ventured into a corner of the occupied territories 

 to visit an P2destinian village where a farmer was growing 

 greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes. The town was 

 poverty stricken. The streets were deep mud through 

 which some residents were travelling on donkeys. 

 Houses were simple cement "blocks" on stilts. Despite 

 the poor conditions, the farmer reported success in grow- 

 ing his crops in greenhouses and under row covers. The 

 tour group was invited onto the farmhouse porch for 

 bitter Arabian coffee served unadorned in small handle- 

 less cups. 



Irrigation 



Drip irrigation is widespread due to Israel's severe 

 water shortage. The Sea of GaUlee in the north, is 

 theprimary source of fresh water for entire country. 



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