The secret to Israel’s tastier fruit, on display in Tel Aviv

Many visitors to Israel comment on how delicious the fruits and vegetables in this country are, and some of the secrets of the country’s fruit production methods will be on display later this month at the Fresh AgroMashov exhibition in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of companies from Israel – and elsewhere as well – will participate in the exhibition, displaying the latest in agricultural, water, livestock, and related technologies.

Visiting the exhibition will be tens of thousands of people from around the world – including delegations from North and South America, Europe, the Far East, and even the Arab world: A Jordanian delegation will tour several agricultural facilities in northern Israel and spend a day at Fresh Agromashov. Delegations from Egypt,  Cyprus, India, China, Indonesia, and Turkey will be there as well.

This year’s will the the 22nd annual Agromashov show, and according to organizers, it will be the biggest ever. “Israel’s unique geographic location at the meeting of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa provide an ideal rendezvous point for guests from all over the world,” said Avraham Israeli, Agromashov’s international “ambassador,” who spends a great deal of his the rest of the year setting up the annual show.

Over 20,000 people from 50 countries are expected to attend the show over its two days (February 20 – March 1). The show is popular among Israelis in the farming business as well; show organizers estiamte that 90% of farms in the country send someone to Agromashov. Visitors will get to see the latest agricultural technologies that will help solve shortages in water, food and land. As the world’s population expands, the amount of arable land dedicated to feeding them has actually been shrinking, said Israeli; more land is being dedicated to growing crops for use as biodiesels, and water shortages and droughts over the past few years have struck at several important breadbaskets. Technology on display at Agromashov will feature novel made-in-Israel technologies designed to deal with these issues.

One company that will be attending Agromashov, for example, is Akol, a software company that designs solutions specifically for agricultural needs. Akol has developed applications that  tell farmers  which crops they should plant, based on climate and location,  and when to plant and harvest for maximum yields, In addition, Akol supplies applications that tell them what feed mix to give their cows, ideal storage procedures for their climate, the ability to track the growth of chickens or livestock, temperature control procedures based on current weather, tracking fruit growth and scheduling irrigation, and generating reports of milk samples for quality control.

Other companies will show off technology to improve watering systems, packaging, transportation – in  short, everything a modern, professional and industrialized agricultural concern needs to thrive. Among the international companies exhibiting this year will be John Deere, Bayer, HCR Seeds, De Ruiter Seeds, Messy Ferguson Tractors, New Holland, Case, Pure Line Seeds, Kaneko Seeds, Takada Seeds, Monsanto, Zata Seeds, KEKKILA, Agresco, Carmel, Jaffo, Origin Seeds, and many others.

The show is organized by Mashov Group, a publisher of specialty periodicals on agriculture and farming and an organizer of conventions ane international exhibitions in the areas of agriculture, gardening, water technology, infrastructures, and the environment.

“Governments and organizations around the world invest hundreds of millions of dollars per annum in agricultural R&D with the purpose of meeting the increasing need to feed more and more people in each successive year,” said Israeli. “Agro-Mashov is the natural meeting place for the modern world’s global agricultural village, with the purpose of serving as a strategic rendezvous point for growers, developers, producers, buyers and researchers.”