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Home 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 See the plants Evaluation How the plants are doing Project Map See the sites Format Where and how Current Status Project timeline Buy Dr. Elaine Solowey's latest book  "Small Steps Towards Abundance: Crops for a More Sustainable Agriculture" on Amazon.com, or from the publisher. |
The Paramount Objective Of Sustainable Agriculture In The Middle East Efficient cultivation - cultivation that produces good food but does not obliterate all other living things - is a sine qua non if we are to survive in a tolerable world. It is by far the most important undertaking for the human species. The prize is very great indeed: a stable and attractive world, capable of almost indefinite survival.1 The price of failure, on the other hand, is almost beyond imagining.The paramount objective of sustainable agriculture in the Middle East is in producing crops that utilize limited water resources efficiently, do not use pesticides, and do not endanger fragile marginal lands. The arid and semi-arid regions of Morocco cover about 87% of the country's arable land. More than 50% of the Moroccan population live in these areas. Arid land also makes up most of Israel's land reserves. Irregular precipitation, frequent drought cycles and overgrazing are some of the main causes of environmental degradation in these areas. Due to these factors, conventional agriculture that requires expensive inputs to produce fruits and vegetables from milder climates is not sustainable in arid zones. In fact, conventional agricultural methods greatly contribute to soil loss by wind and water erosion, vegetation depletion, the loss of potentially valuable species of plants, and the loss of fertility and productivity in marginal areas under cultivation. Therefore, replanting the degraded areas with plant species tolerant or resistant to drought and salinity is crucial to controlling the land degradation, and reclaiming marginal lands. In addition, new crops can provide employment through the cultivation, irrigation, harvesting, and production of value-added forest and orchard products. Developing the Cereus fruit The objective of Project M-20-018 is to investigate ten salt tolerant and drought resistant plants and their viability as new crops for the barren areas of Israel and Morocco. These plants could potentially improve the sustainability of rural activities in both countries. The ten plant species are as follows: argania (argania spinosa), carob (ceratoonia siliqua), almond (prunis almygdalus), capers (capparis spinosa), mustard capers (capparis sinaica), Indian date (zisiphus mauritania), cactus apple (cereus peruvianes), neem (azdirachta indica), sapodilla (manilkara zapota) and marula (schelcarya caffra bierra). These plants will be introduced to quarantine sites at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES). The plants will then be planted out in suitable test sites and farms. The survival and productivity rates of the plants in orchard/agroforestry, irrigated/non-irrigated formats will indicate whether a candidate species is hardy enough to warrant further investigation and development. The work in this project will be done jointly by researchers and students from the collaborating institutions. Moreover, this proposal has the potential, through the introduction of these plants, to improve the sustainability of rural activities in the arid and saline areas in both countries. 1Tudge,C., 1988, Food crops for the Future, p.200, Basil Blackwell Ltd., Oxford. 
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No part of the contents herein may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For more information on this project, contact Dr. Solowey elaine@desertagriculture.org |
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