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Israel helps African farmers fight desert
Having ‘conquered the desert’ at home, Jewish state ready to share technology and skills with African countries struggling to sustain agricultural output due to increasingly unreliable rains
Having “conquered the desert” at home, Israel is ready to share technology and skills with African countries struggling to sustain agricultural output due to increasingly unreliable rains, an Israeli minister says.
Shalom Simhon, Israel’s minister of agriculture and rural development, said sharing know-how, especially in irrigation and water management, was his focus on a recent tour of Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon.
His trip comes as some 10 million people in West and Central Africa face food shortages due to failed rains.
“We are not arriving here in Africa to take resources from the African countries. We are coming here in order to give know-how and abilities to these countries to develop,” Simhon told Reuters in Senegal.
“Israel is the only country in the world that has been able to conquer the desert. More than 50% of our exports are coming from semi-arid areas. This is our strength – this we would like to bring here.”
Simhon said Israel could help Senegal reduce dependence on imports, which currently account for around 80% of food needs. “Senegal’s traditional agriculture is one crop a year. We know how to do three and four crops a year. We can teach that.”
The minister would not give any figures on proposed Israeli aid to African farming or detail the role of Israeli companies in such programs. Already Senegal hosts several Israeli-funded projects looking at using low-pressure drip irrigation to increase productivity.
‘World drying up’
Israeli farmers have been heavily involved in modern developments in irrigation, including drip irrigation systems and water recycling methods.
Some experts believe these techniques could become invaluable in Africa’s arid growing regions, which risk becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change.
“One of the most important things is the water technology and usage. The world is drying up. There is less water, there is less rain days,” Simhon said.
“In Israel we are using recycled water, desalinated water, rain water, salty water, which almost anywhere in the world we will not have any use for (but) we (use to) make the sweetest tomatoes,” he added.
Simhon said advances in technology had allowed Israeli farmers to use 30% less water while almost doubling output over the last decade, leaving the country with a 150% food surplus.
“We have over-production in Israel. It would have been very easy for us just to load the boat or the airplane … but we think we can do it differently,” he said.
“We are coming with the knowledge, the expertise, with the willingness to share it with other countries,” he added, saying it was up to African nations to establish their priorities and seek assistance that was available.
The United Nations chief of humanitarian operations, John Holmes, is currently in West Africa, seeking to draw attention to the food emergency. The UN called for more efforts to tackle the root causes of the recurring crises.
Source: Ynetnews.com
Poll: 98% of Israelis concerned about environment
Environmental Protection Ministry survey suggests 95% of Israelis have high environmental awareness
The vast majority of the Israeli public is concerned with environmental issues, according to a survey issued by the Environmental Protection Ministry and published recently in honor of Israel’s Earth Hour.
According to the poll, 98% of Israelis said they practice environmental guidlines, such as recycling, while 95% noted they regard green issues as important.
The survey further indicated that 93% of the public are ready to separate domestic waste and maintain that children prevent households from adopting more environmental-friendly patterns.
The poll, which randomly sampled 500 men and women over the age of 18, was conducted in order to examine the public’s attitude towards environmental issue and its degree of involvement in protecting the environment.
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan commented on the poll’s findings: “The results show that the public expects a suitable infrastructure enabling it to take on a more active role in improving the state of the environment.
“It has been proven that the younger generation which influences the family’s patterns, wants to live in cleaner surroundings. It is important that decision makers review the public’s will on Earth Day and change their habits in order to achieve joint success in promoting the green revolution in Israel.”
According to the survey, the prime manifestation of Israelis’ environmental activism was the recycling of bottles. Asked what they did for the environment, 42% answered they recycled bottles, 38% responded they maintained cleanliness and 27% noted they recycled paper.
Some 91% of respondents said they have a medium-high preference for environmental-friendly products.
The 65% who noted they did not purchase “green” products explained this by the products’ high prices, whereas 30% stated “green” products weren’t labeled correctly and 10% noted they did not believe the environmentally-friendly assertion.
A mere 7% noted they were not concerned with the issue.
Source: Ynetnews.com
Israelis who travel by train are getting more than just a ride
An Israeli university is taking a new approach to learning by treating passengers traveling on the Israel Rail Service to a series of lectures by the institution’s top scientists.
This year, Israelis who opt to travel by train are getting more than just a ride – they’re getting an education. Thanks to an initiative from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Rail Service, train passengers are being treated to lectures by some of the university’s most prominent professors.
‘Scientists on the Train’ is a monthly series developed by the Hebrew University. A professor chooses a train to lecture in and passengers are invited to attend, free of charge.
A recent lecture was dedicated to National Science Day, celebrated in Israel to mark Albert Einstein’s birthday and honor the great scientist’s contribution to the country. A member of the early Zionist movement, Einstein was one of the founders of the Hebrew University and bequeathed his intellectual property to the institution.
The lecture series is designed to open peoples’ minds to new ideas and to show the public that professors don’t just live in ivory towers but use science and other types of research to improve the lives of everyone.
Source: Israel21c
Israeli boxer retains world women’s title in Tel Aviv
If the event was billed as boxing’s most celebrated showcase that Israel has known, hometown girl Hagar Finer did not fail to meet expectations. Before a nationally televised audience and thousands of cheering spectators at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Finer retained her WIBF bantamweight crown by handily defeating Latvian challenger Agnese Boza with a fifth-round knockout last night.
Both fighters began the match hesitantly, but the bout gained momentum in the second round. Finer lifted her arms in the air triumphantly at the bell, and justifiably so. She landed a number of crosses that kept Boza, who was at a distinct disadvantage against the taller Finer, on the defensive.
The Israeli solidified her control of the bout in the third round. Boza, who replaced Finer’s original opponent, American Stephanie Dobbs, was victimized by the champion’s devastating right hand. As time expired in the fifth round, Finer sent Boza to the canvas with a powerful right blow. Although Boza got back on her feet, the referee declared the bout over, as he ruled that the Latvian could not sustain the continue pummeling. Finer erupted in joyous celebration, embracing her trainer and manager Ra’anan Tal.
Finer credited the crowd with providing a home-field advantage that simply overwhelmed the Latvian challenger. “I hope the Israeli people will get to know her even more,” Tal said of Finer. “We want to defend the title here in Israel because the refereeing abroad is hostile against us.
“We need to support boxing. In Israel we have sports besides soccer, and Hagar’s achievements should not be for naught. We need the Israeli people to pump money into the sport.”
The evening had all the trappings of a major fight. Before the bout, Finer was greeted with a rousing ovation from an audience that included some of Israel’s most recognizable faces from the entertainment and sports world.
Her victory may prove to be a breakthrough moment for women’s boxing in Israel. Though the sport remains in its infancy in Israel, boxing organizers can take comfort in the fact that they have found a charismatic, marketable ambassador in Hagar Finer.
Source: Haaretz.com
Would you like hummus in your coffee? – Chickpeas Milk ?!?
Israeli scientists develop new milk alternative made out of chickpeas
If falafel, which is made out of chickpeas, became Israel‘s national food, perhaps milk made out of chickpeas could be the next big hit. The scientists at Volcani Center, who developed the “himtza drink” are confident that it could be a great replacement for cow’s milk.
The Agriculture Ministry, in a bid to promote Israel’s chickpea growers, understood that there is a limit to how much hummus Israelis could eat. So, they started seeking out additional foods that could be made from the legume.
The world has already grown savvy of the advantages of the chickpea, and have even started making flour from it.
“From this flour, you can make cookies, good bread. It is kosher for Passover and is acceptable for people with celiac,” said Dr. Shmuel Galili, from the Agricultural Research Organization, in an explanation of why his team decided to focus on the chickpea as a source for milk substitutes.
The recipe for making the substitute is as follows: soak chickpeas in water overnight, grind them in a blender with water, cook them, then drain the mixture and you have chickpea milk.
“Chickpeas, unlike other crops like soy beans, are a local Israeli crop, and we want to encourage farmers to increase their yield,” said Dr. Galili. “We are not familiar with such a development anywhere in the world, and hope it will develop into a true substitute to soy milk.
“People who have tasted it said it’s better tasting. Soy milk has its health benefits, but it also contains an excess of plant compounds called phytoestrogens that have a hormonal effect on people, especially pregnant women and small children. Chickpeas have less phytoestrogens,” explained Galili.
High production costs
What is the likelihood that we will see chickpea milk on the supermarket shelves? Dr. Galili recently completed the development of a methodology for producing chickpea milk. Now, his team is in the process of convincing commercial companies to look into making it a marketable product.One of the problems they will have to overcome, besides penetrating the product to the consumer market, is the high production costs of chickpea milk relative to soy milk.
In a taste test performed by Yedioth Ahronoth, the product received quite reasonable scores, ranking 3.5 in taste, 2.5 in texture, and 3 in smell on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest.
Source: Ynetnews.com
TLV’s Rothschild BLV. Street party – SICK!
Everyone’s Januaries should look like this!
