Levi Eshkol, Minister of Finance, predicted today that during the next five years the first stage of the Jordan River project for irrigating the Negev would be completed and that 250, 000,000 pounds will be invested in consolidating Israel’s new settlements.
Mr. Eshkol also told the Histadrut Agricultural Workers Association convention that agricultural production would be increased by 50 percent which would mean saving of about $100, 000, 000 a year in increased exports or decreased imports.
He called for more planning in agriculture, particularly in the direction of industrial plantations. The question of planned agriculture and further expansion of cultivated areas was one of the principal topics of the convention because of current surpluses in some crops.
Pinhas Sapir, Minister of Trade, discussed future industrial development based on farm planning. The possibilities of exporting summer crops from the Negev to Europe also were discussed.
Delegates were told that so far in the current citrus season, exports of citrus fruits had reached 2,100,000 cases, which was slightly less than the exports of the corresponding period last year. Most of the fruits went to England, with West Germany next, followed by Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
