High technology application in clean agricultural production of Israel

(Baonghean.vn) - Vietnam is in the process of international integration. Continuously innovating and applying high technology and advanced techniques in production is an inevitable direction to build a modern agriculture.

Israel is a small country (with an area of ​​21,000 km2), famous for its complex climate and terrain, some places are subtropical, some are arid, some areas are 400m below sea level, and some are sand dunes, alluvial mounds... More than half of the country's land area is desert and semi-desert, the other half is forest and steep hills; of which, only 20% of the land area (about 4,100 km2) can be cultivated.

Faced with the pressure of a rapidly growing population and a massive influx of immigrants since the late 1980s, which has led to a significant increase in demand for agricultural products, Israel has continuously researched and promoted the application of high technology in agriculture. As a result, in a short time, this country has moved from a state of food shortage to self-sufficiency in food and foodstuffs, and in the past 5 years, the value of agricultural production has always exceeded 3.5 billion USD/year, of which exports account for over 20%. Always at the forefront of applying science to agricultural production, Israel has become a typical agricultural model of the world.

1. Greenhouse technology

The VinEco Tam Dao greenhouse system invested by Vingroup has an area of ​​4.5 hectares, using Microgreen sprout production technology provided solely by Teshuva Agricultural Projects (TAP) from Israel.

In addition to the goal of producing "clean" agricultural products that are safe for use, greenhouse farming has created a revolution in productivity for crops. Thanks to greenhouse farming, tomato productivity in Israel has reached 500 tons.ha/crop or 3 million roses/ha; also thanks to greenhouse farming technology, Israel has turned the rocky Negev desert (accounting for 65% of the country's area) into a "high-tech green field" with the highest crop productivity in the world. In the past few decades, greenhouses in Israel have been mainly used for growing flowers, vegetables, and food-colored plants that require high quality products, such as chili, onions, garlic, melons, etc.

Currently, Israel is developing greenhouses for the production of some ornamental plants and perennial fruit trees for commercial and export purposes such as grapes, apples, peaches, pears, etc. In recent years, greenhouse technology in Israel has been continuously developed to improve the technological level to meet the more detailed and diverse needs of high-tech agricultural production development. Along with promoting the development of greenhouse technology for the crop industry, Israel has also developed some types of greenhouses for the livestock industry, mainly for poultry farming and high-tech aquaculture in the desert.

2. Automatic irrigation technology, water saving

Illustration photo.

It can be said that, with a terrain that is mostly desert and semi-desert, water is a resource that Israel always lacks and is considered a national resource. All agricultural production activities of this country revolve around the three words "Saving water". Therefore, Israeli scientists have researched and created a modern drainage system that saves maximum water resources such as: drip irrigation, using automatic valves, multi-layer filtration, using low-pressure nozzles and small rain sprays. Thanks to drip irrigation, farmers save 60% of water.

3. Israeli drip irrigation system

An Israeli drip irrigation system.

Israeli fields are equipped with a network of water pipes, with small tubes like capillaries leading to each tree. This system is controlled by a computer, automatically opening and closing the irrigation valve when the humidity of the tree roots reaches a certain level. This drip irrigation system also serves as a fertilizer. The user mixes fertilizer into the water tank and the fertilizer will follow the network to each tree root. For plants that need to be watered on the surface of the leaves, people use a misting system.

4. Application of information technology

Israeli agriculture is successful mainly thanks to science. (Illustration photo)

Since the 1990s, the Israeli government has continuously invested heavily to help farmers access information technology (IT) applications. Up to now, almost all stages from cultivation to harvesting, preservation, and consumption in Israel are now applied with information technology. Farmers can self-manage all stages of production with a cultivated area of ​​5 - 6 thousand hectares without having to work in the fields.

Accordingly, with just a tablet or smartphone connected to the internet, sensors and remote automatic control software will help farmers know which garden needs which fertilizer, how much, which area needs watering, and how much watering is enough. Based on that data, the computer will tell farmers which indicators need to be adjusted and all activities are controlled through smart devices.

In addition, to support farmers in exporting agricultural products to the world market, the Government of this country also advocates promoting advertising and direct marketing of products to potential markets via the Internet. Therefore, up to now, about 60% of the total flower output is sold directly by farmers to flower auction houses in Western Europe; the remaining 20% ​​is exported to traditional markets such as Eastern Europe and the US; a small part is sold to Asia - mainly Japan.

5. Post-harvest technology

Farmers in Israel are harvesting crops.

The Israeli government has established the Institute for Food Science and Postharvest Products under the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), where scientists conduct research and create many preservation technologies to help agricultural products stay fresh for a long time and still retain high nutritional value, such as a method of preserving potatoes without using chemicals to significantly reduce the germination rate during storage (with the main secret being the mint oil component), increasing the shelf life of pomegranates to 4 months while still maintaining the nutritional content, using micro-opaque air pockets, or heating systems to solve the problem of appearance for onions and peppers.

Other new technologies include methods to extend the shelf life of Granny Smith apples; developing a special high-protein grain for animal feed that increases milk production; and a non-GMO (genetically modified) technology called Enhanced Ploidy (EP) that can increase the yield of crops like corn by up to 50%.

6. Research and Development (R&D)

Despite harsh weather conditions and limited arable land, Israel's agricultural output has continued to grow thanks to research and development (R&D).

Today’s Israeli agricultural sector is almost entirely tied to the four pillars of government, scientists, farmers and businesses. All work together to find solutions to the country’s agricultural problems. Faced with a range of problems, from genetic breeding, disease control to farming on poor soil, Israeli agricultural R&D has developed technologies that have dramatically transformed not only the quantity but also the quality of the country’s agricultural products.

The key to this success is the two-way communication between scientists and farmers themselves. Through the agricultural extension service network (and the active participation of farmers in the entire R&D process), agricultural problems are brought directly to researchers for solutions. From there, scientific research results are quickly transferred to the field for testing, adaptation and adjustment.

The drive to achieve optimum levels of agricultural productivity and quality has led to the introduction of new varieties, whether of crops or livestock, to improvements in irrigation, fertilizers, farm equipment, automation, chemistry, cultivation and harvesting. As a result, these scientific and technological innovations have not only served domestic agriculture, but many of them have been exported abroad.

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