An Egyptian official has credited Israel with helping his country develop a tomato that can be irrigated with brackish — saline — water. “Egypt receives much Israeli know-how within the framework of our joint project for the study of arid zones,” Muhammed Dasouki, First Undersecretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, told a press conference in Beersheba.
Dasouki, an agronomist, heads a 12-member Egyptian delegation of scientists on their first official visit to Israel in connection with a joint research project on arid zones. About 90 percent of Egypt and 60 percent of Israel are arid.
The project began in 1982 with funds provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) and the San Diego-based Hansen Foundation for Peace. Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba is the major center for arid zone research. Originally intended to last five years, the joint project is expected to be extended for another three years.
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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.
