As climate change continues to impact agriculture worldwide, a conference aimed at advancing technological cooperation in agriculture and water was held in Tel Aviv with senior government representatives from Israel and Africa along with investors from the UAE and Israeli agricultural technology companies .
IMPROVATE Agriculture and Water discussed the challenges facing the UAE and African nations in ensuring food security in the face of adverse climate conditions, and the opportunities for Israeli companies in these countries.
IMPROVATE founder and chair Irina Nevzlin said the Abraham Accords, as well as bringing big changes in the Middle East and strengthening relationships, had brought about an opportunity for countries to cooperate and exchange knowledge and expertise. “As Israel’s landscape is very similar to that of the UAE, including the desert areas, the innovative methods developed for agricultural technology in Israel can be a valuable asset and focal point for partnering with the UAE and other Middle East countries.”

Alon Schuster, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Israel’s desert climate and limited natural resources had led it to develop advanced agricultural technologies that today are at the forefront of global development. “The Israeli agricultural sector offers agricultural technologies to increase efficiency and yields, while generating maximum returns in all fields of agriculture, in challenging climate and soil conditions... The fruitful collaboration will enable us to share our experiences with our partners to a desert climate and a reality of increasing desertification, and to learn together and share our knowledge and experience to create more efficient and sustainable agriculture that will ensure global food security.”

MK Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid chairman and leader of the opposition, addressed the global coronavirus crisis. “When the pandemic is finally over, we will be left with the global economic crisis. The solution to that crisis will be twofold: Technology and cooperation. The countries that innovate, that upgrade, that look forward, and that work together, will surge ahead. Israel is one of those countries, and so is the UAE.”