Introduction of Sustainable Crops to the Arid Areas of Israel and Morocco

The Center for Research in Sustainable Agriculture received several grants focused on the common purpose of identifying crops and trees that can be cost-effectively raised in arid and semi-arid zones. The Center's largest single project was a joint initiative with Ecole Nationale d'Agriculture de Meknes, Morocco's largest agricultural academic center, supported by the Middle East Research and Cooperation Grants program. The specific aims of this research were:
  • To determine whether new sustainable Israeli crops will be useful agroforestry trees or orchard trees for certain regions of Morocco which suffer from a dearth of food-producing crops, shortage of sweet water and lack of appropriate irrigation technologies.
  • To determine whether similar crops will be viable in the Negev desert in Israel.

This project ran from April 2001 - June 2006. For detailed information on this research project, see www.desertagriculture.org.

To read an article published about the study: www.apps.caes.uga.edu




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