Given that Israel has revolutionised farming by not only irrigating the desert but by expanding crop production dramatically, maybe the Nigerian government should restrict pilgrim permits to those willing to go and study their agricultural techniques

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Do you all know that Israeli agriculture is highly developed as the country is a major exporter of fresh produce and a world-leader in agricultural technologies despite the fact that its geography is not naturally conductive to agriculture

[2] More than half of Israel's land area is desert and the climate and lack of water resources do not favour farming but guess what, they have irrigated the desert. Only 20% of Israel's land area is naturally arable but guess what? the country produces 95% of its food requirements

[3] Do you know that the area of irrigated farmland in Israel has increased from 74,000 acres in 1948 to some 460,000 acres today?

[4] Israeli agricultural production rose 26% between 1999 and 2009, while the number of farmers dropped from 23,500 to 17,000. Farmers have also grown more with less water, using 12% less water to grow 26% more produce

[5] Due to the diversity of the land and climate across the country, Israel is able to grow a wide range of crops. Field crops grown in the country include wheat, sorghum and corn. Fruit and vegetables grown include citrus, avocados, kiwifruit, guavas, mangoes, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and melons

[6] In 1997, $107m worth of cotton was grown in Israel with most of this sold in advance on the futures market.

[7] Do you know that Israeli cows produce the highest amounts of milk per animal in the world, with an average of 10,208 kilograms (around 10,000 liters) of dairy in 2009. All of Israel's milk comes from dairy farms with most herds consisting largely of Israel-Holsteins, a high-yielding, disease-resistant breed.

[8] When Obafemi Awolowo was premier of the Western Region, he imported a special variety of high-yielding cow from Argentina. Maybe one state governor should be looking to replicate this by importing these high-yielding Israeli cattle

[9] Israel is also big in acquaculture. Scientists of the Bengis Center for Desert Aquaculture at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev discovered that the brackish water under the desert can be used for agriculture, aquaculture and a combination of the two. This has led to the farming of fish, shrimp and crustaceans in the Negev

[10] Were I a state governor in Nigeria today, I would offer to bankroll pilgrimages of farmers who want to go to Israel and learn their farming techniques. When they return, we would offer them loans to purchase hybrid seeds, mechanical and harvesting equipment and assist in semi processing.

ayoakinfe@gmail.com