| |
 Any
development of the Negev depends
first and foremost on short and long-term water sources.
Because of its scarcity however, fresh water is becoming
a limited resource in Israel and in the Middle East.
Water reserves are dwindling every year. Israel currently
requires 53 billion gallons of water per year. Traditionally,
the Israeli government has used pricing as a tool for
water resource management or, in times of severe crisis,
cuts water allocations. In the agricultural sector, this
usually means having to cultivate less water-intensive
crops, such as citrus, cotton and grains.
 Israel
currently grows and produces
85% of its food, supplemented by grain, oil, meat, coffee,
cocoa and sugar imports. By 2010 Israel’s food
self-sufficiency – the
country's national food security
-- may be threatened. 65% of the fresh water currently
used for agriculture will not be available. If present
trends continue, half of Israel's current farmlands will
have been sold or converted for industrial, commercial
or residential use. Fueled by immigration, Israel's population
is projected to grow from 6 million to 10 million in
the next decade. It is obvious that Israel must find
alternative sources of water. Brackish water irrigation
in Israel accounts for only 8% (30% in the Negev), of
the agricultural sector's total use.
Israel,
historically, has had to make
the most of its limited fertile land and water resources,
and has, by necessity, given birth to a cadre of scientists
and engineers, who lead the world - 115 per 10,000 population
(the US is second, with 85 scientists per 10,000). With
little fresh water, but an almost unlimited underground
supply of brackish (salty) water, Israeli researchers
in applied desert agriculture have, over the past two
decades, concentrated on developing new technologies
for brackish water irrigation of crops. Even though brackish
water is abundant in most desert regions in the world,
such innovative research had never been conducted before,
and Israeli expertise and experience gained carries broad
local, regional and international ramifications. |
