Support for farmers (photo vecteezy, unsplash, flash 90)
The soil is a depleting natural resource, which is the basis of support for many ecosystems on the planet. As such, the land provides man and the environment with many services such as the supply of food and raw products, supports the recycling processes of water, and the construction and infrastructure efforts. However, the rate of soil erosion is 100 times the rate of formation of naturally fertile soil, and in the reality of changing and extreme weather, phenomena of erosion and soil erosion are a challenge on a global scale, endangering the extent of fertile soils and the overall regular food supply in the world.
In light of the importance of the issue, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates today (Monday) as every year “Soil Day” on December 5 in order to increase awareness of the issue and encourage actions to deal with it. The support committee, headed by D R. David Assaf, Senior Vice President for Environmental Resources Management, approved 260 requests with a budget of NIS 19.4 million, with the aim of encouraging farmers to take the necessary steps to preserve the land and promote conservation tillage and shift agriculture, which are tools to reduce the effects of climate change on agriculture and the land. The goal during: To establish climate resilience for the citizens of Israel, and to bring about as wide a response as possible to the cultivation and conservation of the land among Israeli farmers.
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In this framework, 65% of the budget will be allocated to subsidize 135 actions and measures taken to preserve the agricultural land, including: planting buffer strips, planting channels, planting drainage channels, installing underground drainage, building bushes from earth or stone, building agricultural drainage channels, and more; 16% of the budget will be allocated to 43 projects for shift cultivation and shift agriculture. These projects include actions to preserve the soil resource in the agricultural areas through various interfaces, including: reducing cultivation and not encroaching on field crops – open and irrigated; Weed management and full plant cover in deciduous plantations; Jojoba and almond plantations; 11% of the budget will be allocated to the procedure for supporting dedicated mechanization for soil conservation for 26 requests for assistance in the purchase of technological equipment that enables the reduction of cultivations or the leaving of plant cover, in field crops or orchards.
About 5% of the budget will be allocated to 43 projects under a procedure to support the ongoing maintenance of soil conservation systems.; And finally, the remaining 3% will be transferred to 13 projects as part of a comprehensive planning procedure and conducting surveys to preserve agricultural land, including the formulation of strategic plans to deal with the phenomena of land drift, moisture or salinity problems.
In addition, in order to encourage shift farming activity that makes intelligent use of the land resource, the Soil Conservation and Drainage Division announced today three farmers with exceptional achievements in the field of shift cultivation and shift farming and its application in the management of the agricultural space, who won a token of appreciation and a cash prize of NIS 15,000 each.
Nir Garzon of Sde Ein Harod Moheed, was one of the first in the Valleys region to adopt no-till sowing in the cycle, and a key partner in regional organization in experimenting with long-term conservation tillage interfaces. In his work, Nir makes great efforts in order to cultivate the soil to the minimum necessary within the framework of his crop cycle, Galit But, Elrum Winery (Vineyard Line), which, starting in the mid-nineties, reduced the spraying of herbs and chemical pest control to the level of stopping spraying altogether.
They are joined by Guy Rilov from Covered Farm, which is considered a leading organic farm in Israel in the application of methods and technologies that preserve soil and the environment in a variety of crops and in large areas. Covered Farm is among the first farms in Israel to implement shift farming since 1989, when the farm converted all its agricultural areas to organic shift farming. Guy won an award for his organic olive and avocado crops.
Senior Vice President for Environmental Resource Management at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. David Asaf: “As those who work day and night to increase the climate resilience of the residents of the State of Israel, we see great importance in the implementation of soil conservation methods, as part of regular agricultural activity. I I am happy that this year we were able to raise significant resources for the issue, and proud of the participation of the growers. In this way, we are working to ensure the local production capabilities of fresh food for future generations and ensure the strengthening of national food security.”
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