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Technical Summary
What the project is about
Relevance
Ecological Agriculture in the Middle East
Cooperation
Working together in a troubled region
Sustainability
Water-saving crops of the future
Technical Objectives
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Sustainability
These crops are being developed with the goal of meeting the needs of the local agricultural communities, as well as protecting the limited water and soil resources and surrounding ecosystems. The planned duration of the planting project is three years. Because the crops themselves are trees, cacti and shrubs that take many years to mature, considerable project activity will continue until the plants produce their first harvests. Israeli and Moroccan researchers will work together for at least a decade while each crop candidate is evaluated for sustainability and profitability. The plants will be distributed among the farmers in the arid zones of both countries, and an extension service will be established to help the local farmers cultivate and develop the most successful of the crop candidates.
Many crops that are grown for food, serve other purposes as well. Those who would improve crops must be aware of the precise role of those crops within the societies they serve. It is in theory possible to produce new varieties that seem to be better by the most obvious criteria and yet do not serve society as well as the old.3
Planting in arid zones
Due to the clear possibility of economic and commercial benefits from the new crops, the project has the potential to draw the attention and support of government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO's) involved in sustainable agriculture, and local farmers. Furthermore, the quarantine sites, once established, can be used to import and test more germplasm, serve as a nucleus for more experimental plantings, function as an extension agent and remain a continual source of seeds, cuttings and saplings for the arid areas. Four farm sites have been chosen in Morocco and Israel to receive the new crops. A committee for facilitating their introduction has been formed. The long term nature of the collaboration and the clear incentives for the Morocco and Israel to continue to work together, means that the project may spin-off a string of similar agricultural experiments in the future.
3Tudge,C., 1988 Food Crops for the Future, p.3, Basil Blackwell Ltd., Oxford.
The Middle East Regional Cooperation Program
MERC Project M24-004
The Introduction Of New Crops For The Arid And Saline Zones Of Israel And Jordan
Technical Summary
There is a desperate shortage of fresh water in the Middle East. More water resources must be reserved for drinking each year while growing populations also boost the demand for agricultural products. In an effort to supply the needs of the populations for water, food and produce; gray water, run-off water and saline water resources are being used for farming.
This has spurred the search for new crops that tolerate saline, brackish and poor quality water.
Attempts are being made to introduce salt tolerant, water saving crops in more sustainable agricultural systems. But not much is known about the long-term sustainability and the benefits of reclamative, drought-resistant cultivars. While the need for such sustainable agricultural systems is obvious, much must be done to develop an alternative set of crop choices that will allow Jordanian and Israeli farmers to make a living while preserving local soil and water resources.
The Objectives of Project M24-004 are:
1. to investigate the benefits and the problems of new water saving sustainable crops in the arid south of Israel and Jordan, specifically the Rift Valley, the southern Negev , the South Shonoux and the Jordan Valley;
2. to exchange germplasm and knowledge about traditional crops, lost crops and water thrifty crop candidates;
3. to set up an Israeli-Jordanian format for cooperation in the arid zones of both countries for the promotion of ecological agriculture and;
4. to establish the foundations for more sustainable agricultural systems suitable for arid lands permaculture and long cycle arboreal crop rotation.
The Promotion of Sustainable Alternative Crops for Arid and Saline Areas With Declining Groundwater Resources in Morocco and Israel
Technical Objectives
1. To promote water thrifty sustainable alternative tree crops in arid and saline areas with declining groundwater resources.
2. To disseminate information, distribute plants, and encourage the cultivation of these crops in place of water wasteful cultivars
3. To introduce water saving cash crops to provide income for farmers until the tree crops bear fruit.
4. To set up trial post harvest treatment, processing and packing facilities, and possible VAP applications for the products of these crops.
5. To monitor the saved
Justification
While Morocco is blessed with a more moderate climate and possesses more water resources than many countries in the Middle East, much of Morocco's land is arid or semi arid and a growing urban population is demanding much of the available water. This lends urgency to the search for water thrifty crops, especially in Morocco's "greenhouse valleys" where the water table is dropping more than a meter per year as water is pumped out of the aquifer for the cultivation of winter vegetables and melons. The cultivation of these crops, however unsustainable from an ecological point of view, is vital to the rural economy providing employment and income for laborers in the rural population who would otherwise be seriously underemployed. When over pumping finally destroys or depletes the aquifer, the communities around the "greenhouse valleys" will suffer accordingly.
Replacing the current crops with water thrifty alternative crops in one of these areas would serve several purposes:
1. Proving (or disproving) the economic viability of the cultivation of the chosen water-saving perennial crops
2. Conserving water and allowing the local aquifer to renew itself before it is irreparably damaged
3. Initiating a more ecologically friendly system of agriculture in the area
4. Providing replacement income and employment until the tree crops begin to yield
5. Providing long term alternative employment for the rural population before that population loses its main source of income
6. Investigating of market possibilities, value added products (VAP), and small-scale industry based on the alternative crops with an eye to expanding the local economy and providing more employment opportunities.
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