Israel, China should cooperate on food security

Additives on all sides [Photo/China.org.cn]

Food supply security is the impending crisis in world diplomacy. Israeli experts and their innovative technology is helping the world face this urgent new challenge, and Israel together with China can ensure cost-effective solutions in the area of food production and crop protection.

At issue is the global food supply. None of the underlying causes of this coming crisis - population growth, climate change that threatens to flood large areas of cultivated land and drought in other regions, rising oil prices and transport costs, and the need for safe, nutritious food, are likely to disappear in the near future.

China faces particular challenges due to issues like water scarcity (about half of China's land area is considered water scarce under UN guidelines with just 1,000 cubic meters per head each year), arable land scarcity (the government tasked with supporting 20% of the world's population on less than 10% of the world's arable land), and water and soil pollution resulting from rapid industrialization.

Israel, a desert nation once challenged by its arid geography and a population explosion, has developed a range of agriculture, crop protection, and water technologies that are already helping to feed many in the world and could provide solutions to many of these problems. Synergies with Israel's advanced high-technology sector help it achieve creative agricultural solutions.

While drip irrigation is one of the most famous inventions coming from Israel's agriculture technology, it isn't the only one. For example, Israel has developed a range of technologies for crop yield enhancement allowing longer shelf life for a range of crops from cherry tomatoes, pomegranates, and citrus. Advances in animal husbandry in Israel allowed local cows to produce the highest amounts of milk per animal in the world.