menu
Monday, February 10, 2025
histadrut
Created by rgb media Powered by Salamandra
© Davar- All rights reserved
News

Israel’s Wheat Crop Withers Under Severe Drought

Economic losses mount as drought threatens Israeli wheat production, raising fears of grain shortages, higher food prices, and threats to national food security

זריעת חיטה בשדות קיבוץ הזורע (צילום: גד"ש הזורע)
Sowing wheat in the fields of Kibbutz Hazore’a. (Photo: HaZore’a crop growers)
By Maya Ronen

A severe drought in Israel is wreaking havoc on wheat crops across key agricultural regions, leading to concerns about harvest yields and economic losses for growers. In the western Negev and the Jezreel Valley, among other areas, delayed and insufficient rainfall has caused significant damage to wheat fields, leaving farmers in distress and threatening Israel’s food security.

“We sowed wheat, but nothing sprouted. Wheat is a strong crop, but if it rains in January and February, and in March the rain stops, there will be no crop,” Ahikam Shelef, director of field crops at Kibbutz Urim in the western Negev, told Davar. “It’s not the stopping of the rains. Winter hasn’t started here yet, and soon it’ll be over. There are expected to be very few, if any, growths. Wheat that was supposed to germinate at the beginning of December lost a month of growth.” The rainfall so far in Urim has been less than 10% of the multiyear average.

The severe drought is already causing harsh damage to agriculture throughout Israel. The lack of rain is felt mainly in the agricultural communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, and in northern Israel’s Jezreel Valley, Hula Valley, and Emek Hama’ayanot areas.

Most of the wheat crops in these areas are irrigated through rain water alone, which means that they require rainfall to be distributed throughout the season in order to reach an optimal harvest. Sowing begins in November and growth should peak somewhere in February or March, in preparation for the harvest. This year, however, the rains in the wheat-growing areas in the north and south have been delayed, leading some already germinated wheat to dry up.

According to an initial assessment by Israel’s Insurance Fund for Natural Risks in Agriculture, known as Kanat, the lack of rainfall is hindering the germination and growth of wheat on around 10,000 acres of Israeli fields. The initial damage to wheat crops in the western Negev and the northern valleys is estimated to be in the millions of shekels. In some of the plots, farmers will be forced to sow again, in the hope that in the near future there will be significantly more rainfall.

Eitan Avivi, director of field crops at Kibbutz HaZore’a in the Jezreel Valley, lamented the delayed precipitation. “In the past 80 years, there has not been a year as dire as this, in which, until the end of December, there was almost no rain here,” he said, noting that he hasn’t slept well in recent months.

The wheat fields of Kibbutz Hazore’a. (Photo: HaZore’a crop growers)
The wheat fields of Kibbutz Hazore’a. (Photo: HaZore’a crop growers)

Avivi said that the most significant concern is that the wheat stalks will produce very little grain, meaning that all the investment will be wasted. According to Avivi, at a very early stage of the development of the crop, when there are two or three tiny leaves, it is possible to predict exactly how many grains there will be on each stalk at the end of the process. If seeds sown early don’t receive sufficient water at the beginning of the growing season, the plant enters a state of stress and won’t produce grains.

Ohad Ziv, 44, a second-generation field grower in the Jezreel Valley’s Kibbutz Yizre’el, also said this year’s drought is unprecedented in his memory. “There were very dry years, in years like this there was less wheat and the harvest wasn’t the best, but the distribution of the rain was different,” he said. “I never remember seeing a year like this, without rain throughout October, November and December. We’re in the worst situation we’ve ever been in.”

Ziv said that the kibbutz has seen a fraction of the rain it normally does. Most of the precipitation came all at once in November, rather than dispersed throughout the season, which is preferable for crops.

“This is not good for growing wheat, which requires a more even distribution to maximize growth and yield,” Ziv said. “Unfortunately, this is a global trend: on the one hand, rainfall events are becoming less frequent, and on the other hand, events are becoming more intense. In a day or two, there can suddenly be 70-100 millimeters of rainfall. As farmers, we always prefer to have the rain spread over three to five days.”

Ziv and Avivi anticipate severe economic damage. In Kibbutz HaZore’a, wheat is grown on about 1,100 acres of land. In a normal year, about a ton of wheat leaves and stems are harvested for animal feed. Avivi said that they will manage to harvest only about one-third of a ton this year if things continue as they’ve been.

Most of the growers’ distress is related to the severe damage to their stable income. “In the current situation, our solid income is expected to suffer,” Ziv said. “This is our anchor, our safe investment. We know that we have wheat, that this is the income we go to the grocery store with, and everything else is extra. We relied on a certain income from wheat, and we already know that we won’t get it.”

Although other crops can generate similar levels of revenue to wheat, wheat is preferred by many farmers since it is thought to carry a lower risk. This year, that assumption was shaken.

According to Ziv, the compensation from Kanat will help farmers, but will only cover about 45%-50% of the intended income. “This is definitely important, so every year we make sure to pay a lot to insure our crops. But I’m preoccupied and restless,” he said. “I toss and turn in bed a lot.”

Kanat estimates that as the drought continues, the extent of the damage is expected to increase. Kanat will compensate the farmers for the costs of reseeding, which are estimated to be in the millions of shekels, and will compensate the insured farmers due to their expected loss of income. The extent of the distribution will be determined at the end of the growing period and in accordance with the condition of the wheat.

The unique income insurance for farm crops was launched a few years ago in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, in light of climate change and the warming and drought trends that affect field crops. The insurance guarantees growers’ compensation for a decrease in the volume of produce or for the loss of income due to a drop in wheat prices. In the past year, Kanat paid wheat growers a record sum of about 30 million shekels (about $8.4 million), mainly due to severe drought in the southern region, and severe damage caused by excess rain and flooding in growing areas in the north.

Domestic wheat cultivation in Israel provides about 15% of the local consumption of wheat grains, meaning that the drought will have an effect on the supply of grains for products like flour, bread, and pasta. “This means that this year we will rely even more on imports, but if there is a shortage all over the world, there is no guarantee that it will be easy to import, and the prices will be raised accordingly,” Avivi said.

Since most grain grown in Israel is used for animal feed, the greatest concern is that the drought could lead to skyrocketing prices for meat and dairy products. Avivi expressed a concern that the drought could eventually prevent Israeli farmers from irrigating crops like corn, meaning that wheat won’t be able to be easily replaced in its role as animal feed.

Avivi said that Israel and its farmers need to come up with a plan for the long term. “The weather in general, and rainfall in particular, are becoming less and less predictable,” he said. “The varieties being grown and all the cultivation practices we know are no longer compatible with the water shortage and global warming. The state of Israel must look ahead and think outside the box in strategic terms, in health, in education, in security, and certainly in agriculture.”

“We must see how we can create food security so that we won’t have to rely only on imports,” he continued. “We saw what happened when there was a blockade on food imports to Israel during the coronavirus period and at the beginning of the war. People have a very short-term memory.”

This article was translated from Hebrew by Benji Sharp. 

Acceptance constitutes acceptance of the Website Terms of Use