A proposal for use of underground streams of fresh water in Israel, now pouring unused into the sea, has been developed by an Israeli team, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reported here today.
The Israeli team, working with a special UN ground-water project fund, noted that 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 cubic meters of the underground water could be retained annually. The team concluded that, if this water was mixed with available brackish water, the salt content of the brackish water could be cut sufficiently so that the mixture could be used for irrigating citrus plantations. Israel contributed $1,100,000 and the UN $341,000 to the special fund.
The final conclusions of the team are expected to be ready next May, when a panel of world experts will meet to discuss them.
In another FAO report, surveying the world’s food and agricultural situation for 1964, the agency found that Israel’s new five-year farm plan for 1965-1969 provides for an overall 40 percent boost in farm output. The goals are a 60 percent increase in citrus fruit, 35 percent increase in vegetables, 30 percent in fruit and milk, and 25 percent in eggs. Israeli projects include expectations of a substantial increase in exports, particularly to the six nations of the European Common Market.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
