Growing it is Not Enough

by Simon Griver

Once upon a time, the farmer would pile his produce onto his horse-pulled cart and trot off to the nearest market to sell his goods. However, today's farmer is confronted by economic dilemmas: whether to export or sell at home; whether to market directly to wholesalers or through middle-men. Just as agriculture itself has developed greatly over the years, using science and technology to improve produce, so the question of marketing now requires a more sophisticated approach.

This is precisely the aim of a program recently offered by the Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture. The Integrated Marketing Program, operated jointly by the Faculty's Departments of Horticulture and of Agricultural Economics, is a unique curriculum which introduces the student to the way that business is carried out - locally, regionally and internationally.

"Universities worldwide teach students how to grow better produce, but they don't teach them how to sell it," explains Prof. Raphael Goren, James de Rothschild Professor of Horticulture and director of the Kennedy-Leigh Center for Horticultural Research. "This is the first department in the world that teaches students both aspects."

Each year since 1992, some 40 second-year undergraduate students - 20 from the Department of Horticulture and 20 from the Department of Agricultural Economics - participate in the two-year course entitled "Agriculture, Economics and Marketing." Students learn about consumer behavior, marketing systems and problems in marketing. Agricultural economics students are also introduced to the specific problems faced by farmers.

The program was initiated by Emanuel Shemin, President of the North American-Israel Horticultural Foundation, who proposed to the Hebrew University that the two disciplines be combined "We do not intend to transform horticulturists into economists, or vice versa" stresses Prof. Goren, "We just want students to acquire a broader, more interdisciplinary basis of knowledge."

Not that Israeli farmers have been that unsuccessful without a formal knowledge of marketing. On the contrary: in 1996 Israel exported $180 million worth of citrus and $150 million worth of other fruits, as well as 1.3 billion flowers which netted $170 million in export revenue."Israeli farmers have been quick to plant new varieties of flowers and fruits which look or taste better," observes Prof. Goren, "There is also high awareness of the importance of texture and aroma and other factors. But farmers do not always understand the importance of packaging, pricing and timing."

One recent graduate of the program has already introduced profitable changes to the family farm. "My parents grow flowers, such as roses, for export to Europe," explains Hagit Golan, 26, of Kfar Hess north of Tel Aviv. "We had previously sold all our flowers directly to the flower exchange in Holland. But with my encouragement, my father has made direct contacts with wholesalers in Europe and this has increased the profit we make on each flower. We are also more aware of such concepts as diversifying the flowers we grow and the importance of a longer shelf life."

Dr. Amir Heiman, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Management, who coordinates marketing studies, explains that the course can have greater impact than the numbers suggest. "There is a shortage of agromarketing practitioners in Israel," he explains. "This program can compensate for that."

Certain graduates indeed display a revolutionary spirit, hoping to use their newly- acquired skills to make some changes. Tal Karo, 29, plans to become an agromarketing professional. "Farmers in Israel are very conservative," he insists. "They must learn to do joint marketing. At the same time the large national marketing companies need shaking up. There is a lot of deadwood there."

An important aspect of the program is a project undertaken each year by teams of four students (two from horticulture and two from agricultural economics). Each team plans a complete marketing strategy for a horticultural product, and the students with the highest marks earn a trip to Europe to see how the product they have chosen is sold there.

Inbar Grienstein, 26, was part of the team that prepared a project on the marketing of roses, which won her a trip to Holland and Germany. "I was very surprised by the rigorous demands on quality there," she says. "But though they had many complaints about the produce from Israel, I think our roses were as good as those from anywhere else in the world."

Prof. Eitan Hochman, chairman of the Department of Agricultural Economics and one of the founders of the Integrated Marketing Program, sees the course as a pilot project. "The success of the program," he says, "will lead to it being copied for studies of field crops and livestock. Obviously marketing is just as vital for vegetables and dairy products as it is for fruit and flowers. Such an interdisciplinary approach is also relevant for other food products and biotechnology in other Israeli universities and throughout the world."