Making the Desert Bloom

This is part of a series on "Startup Nation", technology in the State of Israel. I dozens these posts before the current Israel-Iran war that I post every weekday. I see no reason to stop posting them.

🌾💧 Israel made the desert bloom and then exported the secret to the world.

When Israel was founded, over 60% of the land was desert. Rainfall was scarce. Resources were limited. But the challenge sparked invention.

In 1965, Israeli engineer Simcha Blass changed agriculture forever with the invention of drip irrigation: a method of delivering water directly to plant roots, drop by drop. It used up to 80% less water than traditional irrigation and boosted yields dramatically.

His invention became Netafim, a global irrigation company now serving over 110 countries from California vineyards to Indian rice paddies to African food programs.

But drip irrigation was just the beginning.

Israel also leads in:

• AI-powered irrigation systems

• Desert crop genetics

• Solar-powered desalination for farms

• Satellite monitoring of soil and moisture

Israel even grew wheat using treated wastewater in the Negev (kinda gross to be honest).

From survival to strategy, Israeli agritech is helping feed the world under the pressures of climate change.

A tiny country turned desert land into one of the most productive agricultural lands in the world.