Optimizing World Water Use

The "Kurt M. Schallinger" Advanced International Course on Irrigation and Soil Management, offered by the Volcani Centre Agricultural Research Organization of Israel's Ministry of Agriculture together with MASHAV, enables Israel to share its technology with the developing world. After all, lack of water or good methods for managing water are the major contributing factors to worldwide food shortages.

The two month advanced course, which is open to candidates with at least a masters degree in relevant disciplines, is nevertheless tailored for candidates who are likely to implement the lessons they learn when returning home rather than just writing academic papers.

Dr. Rami Keren, director of the Institute of Soils and Water at the Volcani Centre, the institute which offers the course, stresses this point. "We select scientists with a track record of implementation," he says. "But at the same time the advanced course attracts candidates who both understand the needs of the simple farmer in the field and have access to the decision makers in the upper echelons of government."

The course, which concluded in December 1996, characterized the talented cross section of eminent experts which Volcani has attracted from every continent over the 27 years in which the course has been offered. There were 37 participants from 27 countries in what was the 27th such course. For the first time some of the participants were sponsored by the UN agencies UNESCO and the FAO.

Dr. Reuven Steinhardt, director of the course, explains that the curriculum emphasizes Israeli developed irrigation techniques, the importance of greenhouse agriculture for smallholder farmers, and soil management and in particular the environmental threats to that soil.

Of course Israeli irrigation means first and foremost drip irrigation. First implemented at Kibbutz Hatzerim in the Negev Desert in the 1960s, this is an invention whose simplicity compares to the wheel or Newton's discovery of gravity. Based on the premise that a tiny drop of water repeatedly dripped over the same spot is the most efficient way of nurturing crops, the kibbutz's company, Netafim, developed a simple system based on plastic pipes with pin sized holes in them. Over the years sophisticated computer operated products that can distribute fertilizers as well as water have been developed alongside the simple systems.

"We also stress the environmental importance and advantages of drip irrigation," adds Dr. Steinhardt. "Overwatering around the world, with increasing amount of polluted materials in our water sources, causes contamination, even rendering some agricultural land around the world unfarmable."

The course also discusses the development of greenhouse agriculture in which the farmer can create an entire eco-system within a small area, controlling all inputs including soil, water and climate to enjoy incredibly high yields.

"The participants do not only learn about Israel," says Dr. Steinhardt. "They also learn about the problems of their colleagues worldwide. As an integral part of the course participants present papers concerning their own research - this contribution truly emphasizes the international aspect of the course - as much as the names and countries of origin of its participants."

Indeed, the "end of term" party arranged by course coordinator Ms. Sydney Lossin (at her home in the pastoral village of Aseret) emphasizes the international nature of the course with each participant preparing a national dish for what must be one of the most cosmopolitan buffets available anywhere.

Ms. Benjaporn Chakranon, a soil scientist from the Pikunthong Royal Development Study Centre in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border tempted the palate with a "beef red curry," an extremely spicy dish which she warned beforehand is much hotter than the average Indian curry.

Ms. Chakranon was especially interested in the use of irrigation methods to alleviate environmental problems. "The acid rain in southern Thailand is so bad," she explains, "that many farmers have been forced to abandon their fields which are too polluted to grow rice in and migrate to the cities to seek industrial work. I think the more sophisticated use of water developed in Israel can help us lessen this problem."

More familiar to his Israeli hosts were both the food and problems presented by Nizar A. Al Wahidi, an agricultural engineer from Gaza who works for the Palestinian Authority's Department of Agriculture. Mr. Wahidi prepared some maklube, a popular local dish combining beef, rice, potatoes, egg plant and mushroom. For him the social encounter with his Israeli neighbours as well as his colleagues worldwide was the most important part of the course.

"Of course having lived in the region," he says, "I am familiar with the methods developed here. What was most important for me was developing people-to-people relationships with Israelis and a better understanding of our needs in an era of peace."

Building a viable agricultural infrastructure in a newly independent country was what also concerned Rabson N. Hleruka, an irrigation specialist from Gwanda in Zimbabwe.

"My region is close to the South African border and like Israel," he explains, "we have a semi-arid climate with only 500 mm of rainfall per year, usually falling in the summer when evaporation is exceptionally high. Most of the land is used for rearing cattle but there are many local farmers growing maize, sugar beets, vegetables and wheat. I am most interested in the possibility of introducing drip irrigation systems for the smallholder farmers in our region."

"The large private farms already have sophisticated irrigation systems," he adds, "We are seeking through government aid to introduce simpler systems for the smaller farmers who at present use surface irrigation and canals. This wastes water that we cannot afford to lose. On returning home I intend to draft my recommendations to the government strongly urging that funds be made available for drip irrigation equipment."

For the "end of term" party Mr. Hleruka cooked a local stew of maize, chicken and okra and, among other things, learned how to use chopsticks in order to eat some of the Asian dishes that had been prepared.

It was the extra-curricular activities and diversity of the course that made it most memorable for Jocelyn Louissaint, a lecturer at the College of Agriculture in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

"As a Christian I was awed to be able to visit the holy places as part of the course," he says, "and rather than sitting in the classroom all the time, we were able to travel around Israel, which has such diverse climate and topographical conditions for such a small country, and see how irrigation and soil conservation works in practice. I was impressed at the way trees are strategically planted to prevent soil erosion during heavy rains. This is something we can use more of back home."

Mr. Louissaint, as well as lecturing at university, also gets out into the fields offering training courses for local farmers on behalf of Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture.

"We would love more drip irrigation systems," he says. "But I fear we do not have the money."

Mr. Louissaint explains that Haiti has a more handsome annual rainfall than Israel with an annual average of 800mm that falls during two very short seasons in the spring and summer.

Indeed, if there was one lasting impression that remained with the course participants, it was the fact that so little water can be made to go such a long way. Perhaps appropriately the course finished during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Celebrating the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been defiled by foreign invaders, orthodox Jews believe a miracle occurred when one day's worth of oil allowed the eternal light in the Temple to burn for eight days. Israel's modern miracle is to make a small allocation of water satisfy all the nation's needs.