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Israel to Help African Farmers Fight Desert

(Reuters) David Lewis - Shalom Simhon, Israel's minister of agriculture and rural development, said sharing know-how, especially in irrigation and water management, was his focus on a tour of Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon. "Israel is the only country in the world that has been able to conquer the desert. More than 50% of our exports are coming from semi-arid areas. This is our strength - this we would like to bring here." "Senegal's traditional agriculture is one crop a year. We know how to do three and four crops a year. We can teach that." Senegal already hosts several Israeli-funded projects using low-pressure drip irrigation to increase productivity. Simhon said advances in technology had allowed Israeli farmers to use 30% less water while almost doubling output over the last decade, leaving the country with a 150% food surplus. - David Lewis (Reuters) Shalom Simhon, Israel's minister of agriculture and rural development, said sharing know-how, especially in irrigation and water management, was his focus on a tour of Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon. "Israel is the only country in the world that has been able to conquer the desert. More than 50% of our exports are coming from semi-arid areas. This is our strength - this we would like to bring here." "Senegal's traditional agriculture is one crop a year. We know how to do three and four crops a year. We can teach that." Senegal already hosts several Israeli-funded projects using low-pressure drip irrigation to increase productivity. Simhon said advances in technology had allowed Israeli farmers to use 30% less water while almost doubling output over the last decade, leaving the country with a 150% food surplus.
2010-04-27 08:30:25
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