Israel’s Pioneering Desert Farms is a Climate Adaptation example

Water is crucial to life. Climate change is already affecting the water available to people around the world. Rising temperatures are increasing the evaporation rate, causing extreme and lingering droughts. Climate change affects the water cycle by influencing when, where, and how much precipitation falls and can lead to extreme weather events over time.

WRI data shows that a quarter of the world’s population in 25 countries faces extremely high water stress yearly, which will continue to worsen. By 2050, the report projects that an additional 1 billion people will live with extremely high water stress, even if the world limits global temperature from 1.3°C to 2.4°C.

As the world continues to be assailed by the challenges of climate change and increasing water demands from population growth and as governments search for solutions to manage water sustainably, Israel has become a global leader in water innovation and technology.

As one of the driest countries in the world, Israel has the world’s most advanced solution to adapt to climate change threats of intensifying droughts and water scarcity through innovation and technology, which includes desalination, wastewater recycling – the highest in the world treating and recycling nearly 90% of its wastewater for agricultural use, drip irrigation technology for efficient and precise agriculture helps the nation turns its desert into productive land.

Israel, a pioneer of desert farming techniques

Continuous innovation and cutting-edge technology demonstrate that sustainable farming can flourish even in the harshest environments.

The article from Energy Monitor, “Adaptation Lessons from Israel’s Negev Desert: A source of climate hope,” highlights the world’s need for effective strategies to adapt to climate change and how the world grappling with its effects can turn to Israel’s innovative water management technologies and desert farming techniques as an efficient climate adaptation solution.

The article notes that despite more than half of its land, 60%, being a desert, Israel’s agricultural production surpasses that of larger rival countries. For example, Israel’s milk production per cow is 13,000 litres, higher than North America’s 10,000 litres and Europe’s 6,000 litres. Its tomato yield is 300 tonnes (t) per hectare, compared with a global average of 50t per hectare. According to data collected by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, it also produces 262t of citrus fruit per hectare, compared with 243t in North America and 211t in Europe.  Additionally, more than 40% of Israel’s crops are grown in the desert.

Gideon Behar, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believes that much of what Israel has achieved can be replicated by other countries facing desertification. “Israel has overcome climatic challenges with innovative solutions,” he explains. “We are a small country with a limited impact; therefore, these adaptation solutions are our biggest contribution to the climate fight” (Adaptation Lessons, 2022).

The sad reality is that the arid conditions that Israel is fighting could become the norm in many parts of the world due to climate change. Thankfully, Israel’s proven success in water innovation and technology means that the world already has a blueprint for efficiently and effectively managing water and growing food amid water scarcity and lingering droughts while lowering GHG emissions.

Watch the video below to learn more about how Israel has turned its deserts into productive farmlands.