MASHAV News

IPALAC proposal wins
by Arnie Schlissel

IPALAC - The International Program for Arid Land Crops - is an initiative designed to improve agricultural productivity in semi-arid zones through the judicious use of plants and cultivation technologies.

In June 2000, the Director of IPALAC, Professor Dov Pasternak, of Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, accepted an invitation to do a two-year sabbatical at ICRISAT (International Crop Research Institute for the Semiarid Tropics), in Niamey, the capital of the West African country of Niger. ICRASAT's activities have focused almost exclusively on a limited number of annual crops grown in rainfed systems in semiarid zones. Prof. Pasternak was asked to expand its activities to include "tree crops" and to evaluate the potential of new appropriate technologies for small holders.

Prof. Pasternak accepted the challenge with unbounded enthusiasm, and during his first eight months at ICRISAT in Niamey had already established a Training Center for the African Market Garden (see below), small models of the AMG in the fields of "lead farmers," a "Mother Plantation" of trees of economic value in semi-arid conditions, and a vegetable seed production project.

IPALAC is funded by a consortium that includes the Government of Finland, MASHAV, Ben-Gurion University and private philanthropists/Foundations. Given the developments in Niger, it was only natural that its Steering Committee (Board of Directors) would hold its annual meeting there in order to see first hand what had been accomplished, and assess its potential impact on the region.

MASHAV was represented by its Director of Planning and Evaluation, Ambassador Gershon Gan. Ambassador Gan is no stranger to Africa, having served as Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 1995 to 1999.

"At MASHAV we are pleased with our support for IPALAC because we see it as an activity that is very focused in its applied approach. It tries to take the results of research and use them in the African reality."

"The African Market Garden (AMG) is an excellent case in point. As soon as Prof. Pasternak learned that the (Israeli) Netafim Irrigation Company had developed a new, simple and low-cost technology for drip irrigation for use in small greenhouses in China, he saw, and immediately began to adapt, it for use in open field horticulture. The AMG, however, not only includes low-pressure drip, but a well-advised mix of annual and perennial (tree) crops - which in the Sahel region will be based on date palms - and other elements."

Indeed, with each passing day in Niger, Dov Pasternak's belief in the potential of the AMG intensified, and at his urging a joint Netafim-IPALAC proposal was submitted to a World Bank competition called the Development Marketplace. More than 2,400 entries were submitted, of which 34 were selected, and the AMG proposal was only one of three which received the maximum grant of (US) $250,000. The proposal is based on the setting up of 900 AMG units in the coming year, and a project advisory team which includes NGOs, the Government of Niger, a representative of the Farmers' Organization, and of course IPALAC and Netafim, are well on their way to finalizing the detailed implementation plan.

Prof. Dov, as he is called widely in Africa, doesn't rest for a moment, and has already applied to USAID for a grant to duplicate the process underway in Niger in three additional Sahelian countries - Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal. MASHAV's continued involvement includes support for two on-the-spot courses on subjects related to these ideas to include participants from a number of countries in the region.

"Some people say they admire me for what I am doing. But I try to tell them I am not driven by missionary fervor (to save the world). What I am doing is fun, and if the end product is to help people have better lives, so much the better."

Israeli doctors run eye clinic in Tonga
by Mark Schulman

Two Israeli doctors traveled to the remote Pacific nation of Tonga to treat hundreds of islanders suffering from eye disease. Drs. Amir Alhalel and Iris Moroz, eye specialists from the Goldschleger Eye Research Institute at Tel Ha'Shomer Medical Center, on a 10-day medical mission sponsored by MASHAV and the Israeli Embassy in New Zealand, conducted an on-the-spot eye clinic in the main hospital from April 20-30 in the capital city of Nuku'alofa.

The Kingdom of Tonga is the only constitutional monarchy in the South Pacific. A Polynesian country, it lies south-east of Fiji, near the international date line, and consists of four main island groups with a total land area of 750 square kilometers, inhabited by a predominantly Christian population of 104,200.

"There are few trained doctors in Tonga and no eye specialists at all in the entire kingdom," said Ruth Kahanov, Israel's Ambassador to New Zealand, with accreditation to Tonga. She is also accredited to Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.

The plan to send doctors began last November when Ambassador Kahanov presented her diplomatic credentials to King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the reigning monarch since 1965.

"When I spoke with the Prime Minister during that visit, he said that the biggest contribution Israel could make to Tonga is in the field of medicine, particularly in combating eye disease and diabetes," Kahanov added.

Many of the eye problems in Tonga, as well as many other islands in the region, are related to high rates of diabetes. High infant mortality rates, heart disease, together with the lack of basic medical resources and facilities also present serious health problems in many parts of the Pacific.

"In the clinic we set up, we performed laser treatment and cataract operations," Israeli doctor Amir Alhalel said. "We did as much as we could in the short time that we were there, screening about 40 cases a day," he added.

"We also brought with us about $10,000 worth of equipment for cataract surgery, most of which remained there as a gift from Israel," he added.

The eye camp in Tonga follows a similar short-term mission to Micronesia in January 2001 by two other Israeli doctors. At that time, Israel donated a laser unit for glaucoma therapy and retinal disorders, as well as pharmaceuticals.

In May 2001, the Foreign Ministry's special medical and humanitarian adviser, Dr. Yossi Baratz, visited Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau in order to assess further cooperation and assistance between Israel and the Pacific region, particularly in the field of health care.

Israel and Tonga have had diplomat relations since June 1977. The King and Crown Prince have both visited Israel, as well as many other Tongan nationals who have traveled half way around the world to learn from Israeli expertise in the fields of agriculture, public health, education and communications.

"We have sent a lot of Tongans to Israel for training courses over the years," Ambassador Kahanov said. "Even the Minister of Education is a MASHAV graduate."

Egyptian librarians visit HU Faculty of Agriculture
by Joyce Fried

Four staff members of the Egyptian National Agricultural Library visited Israel on a professional tour for five days at the end of December, 2001. Director of the E.N.A.L. Mr. Mahmoud Kamel Hassanein, Ms. Reem Essam El Din Kahla, Mr. Wael Abdel Aziz Riad and Mr. Magdy Abdel Rahman El Hakim were hosted by Ms. Naomi Barzely, Director of the Library at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences campus in Rehovot.

Director Kamel Hassanein has had professional contacts with Naomi Barzely for several years, and through this cooperation they were able to improve services to scientists and universities. One goal has been to gain more users of library services and increase subject matter available and accessibility.

Naomi Barzely coordinated professional aspects of this working visit that included talks on acquisitions, selection policies, tools and databases, and work with suppliers, and cataloguing and classification, international formats and library policies. Mutual problems and new ways of exchanging ideas and academic materials were also discussed. In addition to the Faculty library, they had time for professional tours to Tel Aviv University's Life Science and Medical Library in Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Library in Beersheba, and the Library of Life Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

The hope for the future is that more cooperation and exchange will occur, both through visits and training and through e-mail communication.

Two important meetings of experts from Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority took place early this year in Cyprus, as a part of the Regional Agricultural Program sponsored by DANIDA of Denmark and MASHAV.

One was devoted to transfer and training of an Israeli developed computer program named "Ewe and Me" for use in management of small ruminants (sheep and goats). Another was an expert consultation on a regional data base relating to Dry Land Agriculture.

As a result of the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the World Bank and MASHAV, signed in December, 2001, relating to the World Bank's Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) for Distance Learning (DL), Israel's participation in the Network has already been tested. Within the framework of the cooperation agreement, a training seminar for the instructors of MASHAV's main training institutes was presented this May to familiarize them with Distance Learning via the method of Video Conference (VC). (To those of us still astonished by the world of computers and the New Information Age, this means communicating via interactive video cameras in real time, e.g., one person or a group of people sitting opposite a camera and a screen in an office in Israel seeing and talking to another person, or group of people, sitting opposite a camera and a screen in an office in Washington DC, for instance, like talking on the telephone with a screen).

The first day of the seminar took place in the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Video Conference Room. The subject of this first day was "What is GDLN?" and "Training Methodology in Distance Learning via VC." The second day was devoted to hands-on training and learning to utilize this medium, with five MASHAV instructors giving module lessons, each in his/her field of expertise (agriculture, education, etc.), to the World Bank experts in Washington. On the third day the World Bank experts sitting in Washington DC presented a course module on "What is GDLN" to participants in a course at MASHAV's Aharon Ofri Training Center delivered again by VC methods.

The purpose of the seminar was to train MASHAV instructors to enable them in the near future to take part in courses the World Bank offers in various countries and to deliver courses originating from Israel to target countries, utilizing this methodology.

Mr. Claude Salem, Manager of Program Development for the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) of the World Bank, was the guest of MASHAV for a week at the end of June, 2002. He visited the various MASHAV institutes and others connected to MASHAV activities, particularly those working in the area of Distance Learning, in order to examine further possibilities for cooperation between MASHAV and GDLN. During his visit, Mr. Salem met with MASHAV Head Arie Arazi, and among other things they discussed ideas for advancing future cooperation.

MASHAV head Arie Arazi (middle) and Israeli Ambassador to Eritrea Uri Savir (left) visit an Eritrean Ministry of Agriculture extension center, accompanied by Eritrean Director of Agricultural Research Asmerom Kidane (right). At the center traditional grain storage methods from all over Africa are analyzed.

New strain of wheat in Kirgysztan

A special ceremony took place at the MIC kolhoz (cooperative farm) in Kirgystan to name a new strain of wheat in memory of Azi (Elazar) Brosh, an Israeli tragically murdered while working on behalf of MASHAV as an agricultural expert in Kirgystan two years ago. Azi Brosh, a vegetable and open field crop expert, helped develop the new wheat strain during his long-term mission. A memorial plaque was placed in the kolhoz Hall of Honor.

In March 2002, the Closing Ceremony of the 7-month course on Integrated Rural Regional Development Planning, organized by the Weitz Center for Development Studies took place in Manila. The 5-month theoretical stage of the course took place in Israel, at the Center in Rehovot, and the second part, a 2-month practical stage, took place in the Philippines at Alaminos, in the Pangasinan Province.

Present at the ceremony were the Minister of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines, the directors of FAO resident in Manila, over 150 regional leaders and municipal mayors, heads of development planning organizations, dignitaries from the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines and Ms. Julia Margulies, Director of the Weitz Center, and Michael Gorelik, the course director. MASHAV Course Coordinator Rivka Karni represented MASHAV.

The first part of the event was dedicated to the presentation of the development project proposed for the area by the 32 participants in the course. The project included an outline of the goals to be achieved in the next 10 years as well as specific projects to be carried out immediately in the areas of agriculture, education, health, tourism and community development. Ms. Karni brought greetings from MASHAV, and presented diplomas to the course participants.

During her visit, Ms. Karni visited MASHAV's agricultural demonstration farm in Los Baños, greenhouses in the Tagatay region, and Netafim's (an Israeli company specializing in irrigation) demonstration plot. She also met with dignitaries from NEDA, The Philippines' National Economic Development Authority. In addition, Rivka Karni met with the Manila Shalom Club. The Shalom Club is comprised of 26 regional branches all over The Philippines.

MASHAV-Yad Sarah-Cameroon cooperation

Yad Sarah, the organization that operates a free medical equipment lending service throughout Israel, and MASHAV joined forces to bring various handicapped aids, including 30 wheelchairs and other walking aids for rehabiliation purposes, to Yaounde's Rehabilitation Center. The minister for community affairs was present at the festive ceremony.

In February, 2002, at a high-level Forum at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, leaders and representatives of developing countries and international development organizations convened to discuss Human Security and the Future of Development Cooperation.

"The Forum called attention to the urgent need to move beyond rhetoric and put into action a plan in which resources are fully committed," said former US president Jimmy Carter, for whom the Center is named. "The consensus of nations on how to fight global poverty has never been as strong as it is today."

Jacob Rosen, Israel's consul-general in Atlanta, who attended the two-day Forum, noted the fascinating aspects of the debate regarding the question of donor countries' assistance to developing countries indeed reaching their proposed goals.

Colombia visit

In May 2002, four Israeli judges and a MASHAV representative visited Colombia to study the judicial system in order to prepare for a seminar for Colombian judges to be held in Israel in 2003.

From left: Colombian Justice Minister Romulo Gonzalez Trujillo, Israeli Ambassador Ehud Moshe Eitam, Israel Justice Haim Porat, Colombian President Andres Pastrana Arango, Israeli Supreme Court Deputy President Shlomo Levin, Israeli Justice Erika Priel, MASHAV Projects Division director Meir Cohen, and Israeli Embassy Second Secretary Raphael Singer.

MASHAV introduces new discipline: Israel Electric training and development

Israel Electric (IE) is considered today to be one of the most vertically-integrated (including supply of all electrical services: generation, transmission and distribution) electricity companies in the world. The Training Unit of IEC is large, employing tens of instructors and experts in the whole range of professional disciplines in the field of energy, electricity, management and planning experts and establishment of training systems.

In the years 1999-2000 the IE training unit implemented an Internal Training Center Project for the Jamaican Electric Company (JPSCO). The project included a course for training high level instructors in Israel, advice and support for the training supervisors in Jamaica and some of the demonstration courses for professionals and employees at JPSCO. IE experts have been invited to several African, Eastern European, Caribbean and Asian countries to advise.

The principle areas of expertise of the IE training unit, which has the capability of providing training in a number of languages, are:

An International Course on Research & Development in Postharvest Biology and Technology was recently held in March, 2002, at the Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel. This is one of three courses offered annually by the ARO and CINADCO, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and sponsored by MASHAV.

Twenty-eight participants from 15 countries (Bulgaria, PR China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Italy, Hungary, India, Lithuania, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey) attended the course. It was orchestrated by Mr. Meir Bazelet (course director, CINADCO), Dr. Elazar Fallik (scientific director, ARO) and Mrs. Sydney Lossin (coordinator, CINADCO). The participants expressed very high satisfaction with the contents and organization of the course, and emphasized the importance of the final project prepared by seven groups and presented to course participants and lecturers. Since their departure, many e-mail messages speaking of their fond memories of their "Israel experience" and the professional contacts they have made have been sent.