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The
Ramat Negev Desert AgroResearch
Center (RNDARC), a regional government
facility, is located at the junction of two different
soil terrains to study multiple crop/ecosystem interactions.
The Center works cooperatively with, and provides extension
services to, agricultural communities in the Ramat Negev
region.
 RNDARC
has developed agricultural management practices to improve yield
and quality of numerous crops, including techniques for cost-effective
water conservation and erosion control, planting, crop rotation,
harvesting and food processing. RNDARC scientists have introduced
new crops to local farming, cultivated a variety of traditional
fruits and vegetables, established fish farms and beef cattle
herds, raised exotic birds such as ostriches and partridges,
and grown fodder crops.
The
Center is a world leader in brackish
(salty) water irrigation research
and crop response (growth, yield, quality, variety) and
has developed environmentally sound principles curtailing
the deleterious effects of salinity. As a result of their
findings, brackish water is now being used widely for
crop cultivation in the Negev.
 Yoel
DeMalach, RNDARC's founder, has conducted desert agricultural
research specifically in the area of brackish water irrigation
over the past 50 years, and has published over 100 articles.
In recognition of his pioneering work in desert agriculture,
Mr. DeMalach was a recipient of the Israel Prize (Israel's highest
honor) in 1986, and more recently, received an honorary doctorate
from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
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