3rd Annual Workshop on Israel, Sustainable Agriculture and the Developing World
The Manna Center Program for Food Safety & Security, the Department of Public Policy, and the Boris Mints Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions to Global Challenges at Tel Aviv University hosted the third annual workshop on “Israel, Sustainable Agriculture and the Developing World: Fulfilling the Technological Potential.”
July 13th, 2016 was the third annual workshop on “Israel, Sustainable Agriculture and the Developing World: Fulfilling the Technological Potential”. We were proud to bring together academic researchers, private companies, government and NGOs for open discussions on challenges faced in international development which was met with steps to take towards addressing these challenges.
The workshop focused on smallholder farms in developing countries by way of bringing Israeli technology up to its full potential. Collaborations and networking led to new partnerships with the organizations in attendance that addressed Water and Irrigation, Seeds, Fertilizers and Soil, Health and Nutrition, Extension and IT and Energy. Boubacar Sow, an international student from Senegal also part of the Manna Center Summer Institute, spoke at the workshop about drip irrigation in his home country.
The workshop also featured pitch sessions with leading Israeli start-ups and NGOs. Under the direction of Professor Ram Fishman, Israeli public policy students, Shira Bukchin and Yoav Rothler, presented their research on the impact of Fair Planet's activities with improved seeds for smallholders in Ethiopia and whether information can help reduce imbalanced application of fertilizers in India, respectively.
Links to all the talks can be found below:
Agenda
9:30-10:00 Opening Session
Greetings: Prof. Itai Sened, Head, School of Social and Policy Studies Chair, Department of Public Policy
Head, Boris Mints Institute for Strategic Policy Solution to Global Challenges, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Nir Ohad, Director, Manna Center Program for Food safety and Security, Tel Aviv University
Introduction: Dr. Ram Fishman, Dept. of Public Policy, Tel Aviv University
Opening Talk: Dr. Dov Pasternak
10:00 - 10:30 Dissemination of Improved Inputs: The Fair Planet Project in Ethiopia
Description of the Project: Dr. Alon Haberfeld / Shoshan Haran, Fair Planet
Research Design: Shira Bukchin, Dept. of Public Policy, Tel Aviv University
Discussant: Prof. Yotam Margalit, Dept. of Political Science, Tel Aviv University
10:30 - 11:00 Behavior Change and WASH: The NALA Project in Ethiopia
Project Description: Prof. Zvi Bentwich, Head of the the Center for Emerging Diseases, Tropical Diseases and AIDS (CEMTA), Ben Gurion University
Discussant: Dr. Miri Stryjan, Dept. of Economics, Ben Gurion University
11:15 - 12:00 Spreading Drip Irrigation
Drip Irrigation in Large Scale: The Ramthal Project in India Yoav Rothler, Dept. of Public Policy, Tel Aviv University
Discussion by Representatives of Naan Dan Jain and Netafim
The TIPA Model in West Africa Paul Hirschson, Ambassador of Israel to Senegal
Tammy Erann Sousan, MASHAV
12:00 - 12:45 Finance for Development
Moderator: Leehe Skuler
Dan Schonfeld, Head of Finance, Vital Capital
Sarai Kemp, VP BD, Trendlines agtech
Rona Ben Zion Galezer, Greensoil Investments
Oded Distel, NewTech
12:45 - 13:30 Early Stage Innovations and Potential Areas for Future Activity - Rapid Presentations (5 minutes per presentation).
Moderator: Dr. Efrat Oron, Manna Center Program for Food Safety and Security, Tel Aviv University
13:30 Closing Remarks
Prof. Alon Tal, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben Gurion University
The pitch sessions included the following organizations (presentations are available in the links):
1. Tikkun Olam Ventures (TOV)
3. Amaizz - Post Harvest Solutions
6. Flux
7. EcoPeace
8. Engineers Without Borders - Israel
For additional photos from the event, please visit the Boris Mints Institute page.