My Long-Term Mission - An Israeli Agronomist Abroad

The author writes of the four years he has spent in Ecuador and of agricultural developments during that time.

In light of a request by the local Ministry of Agriculture, and after a preliminary reconnaissance by Raanan Katzir of CINADCO (Center for International Agricultural Development of Israels Ministry of Agriculture), I commenced my long-term MASHAV mission in Ecuador in 1995, living with my family in our temporary home in Quito.

After several weeks of survey and learning about various local projects, we decided to concentrate on the CEDEGE (Center for Study and Development of Water Resources of Guayas del Ecuador Region) project in the Santa Elena Peninsula. The MASHAV project also covers the area of greenhouse vegetable crops in the mountain regions, and offers specific assistance, where necessary, for selected projects in various regions of Ecuador, in the form of seminars, conferences, bringing in additional Israeli experts, and locating local candidates suited for participation in MASHAV courses in Israel.

Ecuador is one of the smallest countries in South America (even with an area ten times greater than that of the State of Israel). Extending over 270,000 sq.km., it has a population of about 12 million, constituting a low population density in relation to its area. Most of the population is concentrated in the two large cities: Quito (the official capital) and Guayaquil, the coastal capital.

Ecuador is situated on the equator, with an extremely variable climate, ranging from a hot, damp tropical climate in the Amazon region, a cold climate at a height of up to 6,000m. above sea level in the Andes, to a semi-desert climate (subtropical) in the Pacific Ocean region. The country has a wealth of incredibly valuable natural resources: water, fertile land and a varied climate which allow an almost unlimited choice of crops - as well as gold mines, oil, etc. Its natural beauty could serve as a basis for extensive tourism development, from the snowy peaks of the Andes to the spectacular shores of the Western Pacific, although this aspect is as yet largely untapped.

The overwhelming majority of the population (over 80%) engage in farming. However, as in the case of tourism, here too the natural resources have not yet been exploited optimally. Three fields of agriculture constitute an exception, having achieved world records - Bananas: Ecuador is the largest banana exporter in the world (in 1997, exports in this field totaled 1.3 billion dollars, 20% of the total annual exports). Flowers: The Ecuador Rose is considered the largest and most beautiful rose. It is exported today to all the countries of Europe, North America and Russia. These last two fields boast more than a "touch" of Israeli technology: most of the bananas and flowers are produced from meristem plants imported from Israel by various companies and irrigated with Israeli drip irrigation equipment. Another field in which Ecuador excels is production of shrimp: its fish exports in general stand at about a billion dollars annually. All the other fields of agriculture, vegetable and fruit crops for instance, are underdeveloped.

While Ecuador, with its climatic conditions, could be completely self-sufficient and even export, today most of the subtropical fruits (deciduous, grapes, citrus, etc.) are imported from Chile or California. Ecuador has several state water projects which were built many years ago. However, most are not in operation and many areas of the country are considered very dry (less than 500mm. of water a year) and are therefore not included in the agricultural production cycle. The Santa Elena Peninsula area, where a MASHAV project is situated today, was also dry until four years ago, when the prestigious Trasvase Daule Santa Elena water project was completed.

This is the largest and most modern irrigation project in Ecuador. It was built by the Brazilian ODEBREGE company, funded and administered by the Ecuadorian governmental organization CEDEGE. Its aim is to bring water from the Daule River, which passes west of the coastal city of Guayaquil, to the Santa Elena Peninsula region. This region is a large peninsula, at the center of Ecuador's Pacific coast, encompassing over 40,000 hectares of fertile land. Its climate is subtropical, semi-arid, with about 400mm. of precipitation yearly, and temperate in the months of June to October.

Until 1994 there was no source of water for irrigation there and the few wells sunk had a low capacity and were mostly saline. On completion of the first part of the project, about 15,000 hectares were brought into the production potential and today, with completion of the second part, the entire 40,000 hectares are suited for irrigated crops. However, when I arrived at the project in 1995, a total of about 2,000 hectares were under cultivation and the farmers of the peninsula (large and small) did not in fact know where to invest and how to utilize the potential at their disposal.

Upon my arrival, I found one barely operational experimental station (Chongon) with a mango and cocoa plantation. One of the first goals that we set ourselves was: demonstration of a large variety of export quality crops, suitable for the unique climatic conditions of the peninsula, with advanced agricultural techniques, and with maximum efficiency of water use. A secondary aim was: expansion of the cultivated areas and exploitation of the expensive water project. We immediately began to plant seven basic crops: tomatoes (for eating fresh and for industry), peppers, melons, watermelons, onions, eggplants and lettuce.

Emphasis was placed on correct cultivation of the land, with use of appropriate tools, suitable fertilization, choice of quality hybrid species and drip or sprinkler irrigation according to the type of crop. Emphasis was also placed on pest and disease control, using the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method. Use was introduced of plastic covering of beds and production of seedlings in a protected greenhouse. After about five months of cultivation, we held field days for farmers. Many of the species came from Israel, mainly from Hazera Company (Maccabi pepper, hybrid Garano onion, Ravid tomatoes, etc.). In the wake of this activity the local Camposa Company began to market Hazera seeds in Ecuador.

In 1996 we set up an additional demonstration station in the El Azucar region and we added other crops: asparagus, baby corn, okra, carrots, green beans, to be marketed fresh or to be canned. The form and type of crops are divided into two main groups - by type of potential farmers in the peninsula: crops for the small farmer of up to 5 hectares for the local market, and export crops for the large farmers. It should be noted here that most of the peninsula farms belong to wealthy investors who are not actually farmers by training, but who employ a team of agronomists to manage their farms. These farms vary in area from 20 to 500 hectares. Their main crops are mangoes, lemons, cocoa, plantains (large bananas), asparagus, melons and onions. The last three crops were introduced directly after the first demonstration that we conducted at our demonstration farm.

Some of the crops that we planted in 1996 were a continuation of the crops planted in 1995, namely: a strict selection of the cultivars and perfecting of the pest control method, so that we could present the farmer with a "production package" including: a recommended cultivar, a cultivation method and also an economic analysis and a market analysis.

In 1997 the third demonstration station was set up in the Playas region. The entire station is for export purposes and is divided equally between fruit and vegetable crops - citrus, guava, papaya, melon, watermelons, vine and plantains. This year we will introduce two additional experimental demonstration crops which seem to have a good potential in the region: potatoes and cotton. The three stations have a team of agronomists, a crop coordinator, a station directoand local workers, all employees of the CEDEGE, under management of my counterpart CEDEGE employee Engineer Jaime Proano, who for the last four years has been my partner in all the local development activities. (He also recently returned from a Rural Development Course at the Development Study Center in Rehovot.) Students from the Guayaquil Agrarian University are also employed for short periods. Most of the funding for the activities comes from the CFA organization for rural development in the countries of the northern Andes, i.e., Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia. Some funding comes from the Brazilian Campo Company.

Three main reasons brought about a serious economic slump in Ecuador in the last two years: one political - the change of regime twice in the space of two years; two - the destructive influence of the El Nino phenomenon; and three, the worlds adverse economic situation. In the last year, from the beginning of 1998, over 3,000mm. of rain fell on Ecuador's coastal region, almost 10 times the annual average. Now, the rain has been slackening, and I anticipate a rapid recovery in the next few months, particularly of the large agricultural sector, which must rehabilitate the farms and meet export commitments. Without doubt the demonstrations of agrotechnology for the various crops, and of the proper use of natural and artificial sources (seeds, equipment and irrigation) which we conducted in the last four years have left, and will leave, the farmers of the Ecuador coast with practical and spiritual "fuel" (encouragement and motivation) which will serve them for many years to come.

Vegetable Greenhouse Project in the Andes Region

Some of my time is devoted to the large number of small and medium farmers in the Andes mountain region of Ecuador concentrated in the fertile valleys of the outskirts of the city of Quito and Ambato. Until recently they engaged mainly in not particularly profitable traditional agriculture. The climatic conditions in the mountain valleys are excellent for various vegetable crops. However, because of the sporadic rainfall and the relatively low temperatures, they must be cultivated in greenhouses. The secret of cultivation in greenhouses has long been known to the large farmers in the area, although they concentrated mainly on flowers.

In 1995 we reached a partnership agreement between the Israeli Embassy and the Ambato Agricultural University, in the framework of which we set up a demonstration center for greenhouse vegetable cultivation at the university. We organized, in addition, several seminars on the subject, at the universities in other parts of the Ecuadorian mountain area (Rio Bamba, Loja and Quito University). The idea was accepted enthusiastically by the farmers, who discovered that, despite the relatively high initial cost, returns obtained subsequently, through superior crops and greatly improved quality, are immeasurably greater.

From time to time, at the request of the local organizations and after screening of the most important projects, I foray into other areas for several days to aid some regional project, mainly through a short seminar, a lecture or a field day for farmers who are not included in the main regions cited above. Such activities include the assistance that we gave to the Loja project in the region of Ecuador's southern border with Peru, in conjunction with the United Nations Project for Development.

The idea was to create an agricultural educational unit that would also serve as a training and demonstration center for parents of the students in this isolated rural region. The project has been quite successful, and operation of this center is now autonomous. Today, a similar project has been initiated in the Manabi coastal region, which was hit by El Nino floods. Within this framework, I had the opportunity to participate in activities in other regions of the continent, having extraordinary experiences, for example, giving seminars in the Galapagos and the Easter Islands, some of the more isolated places in the world, meeting there very kind and open- minded people.

In November 1998, Central America in general and Honduras in particular found itself in the path of the deadly Hurricane Mitch, which left behind ten thousand dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, devastated agricultural areas, and caused damage to infrastructure to an extent which is still hard to estimate. The countries of the world, including Israel, came to the aid of Honduras with initial rehabilitation, rescue of survivors, location of missing persons, medical aid and food shipments. After about a month of this urgent initial aid, MASHAV began Stage 2 involvement: prevention of possible famine in the country following the destruction of crops and the agricultural infrastructure, through training of the farmers in rapid food production.

Accordingly, it was decided to send a mission, comprised of an initial team of two (myself and Micha Eyal), to examine the terrain, the aid possibilities and to prepare the ground for additional Israeli experts who would arrive in the future. The request for a delegation came directly from the Honduran President, in coordination with the Honduran Ministry of Agriculture, and was addressed to the Israeli Embassy in Guatemala, which is also responsible for Honduras, and which had been active since the catastrophe in intensive organization of all the Israeli aid activities. The Ministry of Agriculture suggested a delegation in the form of a quick course for professionals in the field of agriculture, from all parts of the country.

Micha Eyal and I arrived in Tegucigalpa on December 7, and the following morning we were taken from the hotel by Ministry of Agriculture personnel to the CEDA agricultural training center in the Comayagua Valley where we held the course. The training center, located about a 100km. from Tegucigalpa, is one of the most important training centers in Honduras, and contains all the infrastructure required for holding high-level agricultural courses. It has residential quarters and a dining hall for course participants, a lecture hall with appropriate accessories, a library, secretarial services and an agricultural station.

The training center had succeeded in organizing rapidly and efficiently a group of about 40 participants of a high professional level, who came from all parts of the country. But the subject of the seminar, "Rapid Food Production," had been misunderstood: both the participants and the organizers thought that they were to learn of some innovative method (with a magic wand) for rapid cultivation of corn and vegetables. Accordingly, we first had to explain that there is no magic, only proper organization and correct use of resources, namely: water, land, quality seeds, etc., in order to rehabilitate Honduran agriculture as quickly as possible, and to place it on a level even higher than it was before the Mitch disaster, and generally, to meet the need for rapid food production that would prevent possible famine.

Notwthe initial misunderstanding, once we found that we had with us such a serious and motivated group of people, thirsting for know-how and training, we decided to rename the intensive workshop: Correct Use of Resources for Production of Vegetable and Field Crops. The aim was to prepare the terrain and to train a team of people directly involved in agricultural activity in Honduras, who could serve in the future as counterparts to the team of Israeli experts who would arrive.

In the framework of the workshop, and with the aid of the participants themselves, we were also able to organize two successful field days, one on the Friday, at the Palmerola Company farms, belonging to Miguel Facuse (two of the course participants were employed by him), and the other on the Saturday at the Zamorano agricultural school station. On these field trips, the participants could see at first-hand various crops (beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) grown by improved agrotechnology, employing drip irrigation, production of protected seedlings, etc.

The workshop was successful, with a show of exceptional initiative and organizational ability by the local participants. At the conclusion, all participants received a typed copy of the material delivered in the lectures, about 100 pages, the typing of which continued until the last moment. This will serve them as a kind of training manual for cultivation of vegetable crops in the future.

I know that Micha, who had contributed from his vast experience and fascinated participants with his lectures, had left his own farm at the height of the export growing season in order to participate in this mission. At the end of the course, Micha returned to Israel and his farm and I returned to my temporary home in Quito, my family and one more year of my long-term mission to Ecuador.