Sustainable Water Supply for Agriculture in Israel / Dr. Alon Ben-Gal
Sustainable Water Supply for Agriculture in Palestine / Prof. Said A. Assaf
Since the beginning of the Zionist resettlement in Palestine around the turn of the 20th century, Jewish presence has had a strong agrarian emphasis. The period of high immigration in post-state Israel was accompanied by tremendous expansion of agricultural production, much of which was due to increased irrigation. Early state agriculture was highly supported by the government; Water was made available for irrigation. However, the past few decades have seen a softening of state support for agriculture and a decline in the agronomic ideology of the past. Water prices have gradually increased and subsidies for agricultural water have decreased. This chapter discusses the agricultural use of land in Israel, agricultural output and production. The use of Brackish and Recycled wastewater for agriculture in Israel is presented in detail with attention to the improvements in water-use efficiency and the present role of agriculture in Israel's economy. It ends with an acknowledgment of the future need for coordination with the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.
Cultivation of the land and farming of rain-fed olive trees and olive oil production has been the backbone of Palestinian agriculture from the ancient days of Roman rule and the more recent Ottoman period in historical Palestine, which was followed by the British Mandate after World War I. Production among Palestinian farmers in the coastal Gaza Strip concentrated on citrus and vegetable production, and still does. In the West Banks hills and valleys, however, Palestinians focused their agricultural activities on rain-fed agriculture as water resources for irrigation were limited and under Israeli military control. Palestinians also practice agriculture in the Jordan Valley lands, which are the major contributor to irrigated crops including citrus, bananas, and vegetables. This chapter shortly reviews the history of agriculture in Palestine and lists a few of many obstacles that Palestinian farms encounter in terms of water shortage, development of water sources and allocations for agriculture. It then describe the current land use, crops selection, productivity, and general agricultural situation in the West Bank and Gaza with special focus on the changes that took place before and after Israel's control over Palestine's territory.
