Agri-tech and Israel

Abstract

Agriculture in Israel has evolved as a technologically native and highly developed industry that is no longer dependent on the availability of labor-intensive methods. Agri-tech industry has played a crucial role in advancing the stature of Israeli agriculture. Through the usage of innovative and precision technologies such as remote sensors, mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, sensors and actuators, drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), GPS soil sampling, telematics, autonomous vehicles, and automated hardware and software, Israel has transformed its agricultural experience. As a result, despite physiographic and climatic challenges such as pervasive water shortage, dryland conditions, and increasing soil erosion, the country’s annual crop productivity rate has been far above the global average. Even though the sector employs only 0.9% of the population and contributes 1.1% of the GDP and only 3.6% of the total exports, Israel’s food self-sufficiency rate stands high at 95%. This is possible because of innovation in agricultural technologies, which the country majorly provides to other agrarian economies to improve their agricultural conditions. By increasing crop and farm productivity and enhancing crop quality and soil health, Israel’s agri-tech industry plays an indispensable role in addressing food security challenges.