Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Oded Porer: “During the last few years, when the whole world is dealing with the issue of food security and the climate crisis, Israel’s potential is increasing over the years and the conference is an opportunity for Israeli entrepreneurs and researchers to present, share and grow collaborations in the many areas of research and development in which we are already leading the field. The ‘Food from the Sea and the Desert’ conference is designed to set the wheels in motion towards collaborations with countries throughout our region, which face similar climate challenges.
The issue of global food security will face many challenges in the coming years, including the rate of population growth, global warming and frequent climate changes, sea level rise and the reduction of fertile areas for agricultural crops. accordingly, Today the opening shot is being held for the first international conference in Israel and it will host ministers and delegations from the countries of the world including Bahrain, Morocco and more. All this with the aim of promoting knowledge and technologies in the field of marine and desert agriculture, as well as strengthening research and business collaborations in the field. The conference will last three days and is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development headed by Minister Oded Forer; and in cooperation with the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee and the Ministry for Regional Cooperation.
In this framework and during the first day of the conference, a panel will be held with the participation of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Agriculture from the countries of Azerbaijan, Romania, Moldova, Togo and Malta, alongside Israeli researchers and entrepreneurs on the topic of ‘the future of global food security in light of the climate crisis’, with the aim of sharing and improving knowledge and realizing the The potential lies in the connection between the sea and the desert in Israel – to the countries of the world.
Also, the opening session will be led by Prof. Yonatan Zahar, a researcher in the field of fisheries at the University of Maryland. Other leading speakers who will take part are Flavio Corsin, from the company Aqua Spark, which promotes global investments in the field of marine agriculture, and Dr. John Buchanan, CEO of the Center for Aquaculture Technologies, alongside Israeli experts such as Dr. Hanna Rosenfeld, from the Sea and Lake Research Institute ; and Prof. Amir Sagi from Ben Gurion University.
The conference is the result of the government’s decision last August, led by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Oded Porer, within the framework of which a multi-year plan was launched to develop the city of Eilat and the Eilot region as a national and international center for food production from the sea and the desert at a cost of approximately NIS 170 million.