Ninety-eight per cent of Israel's annual wheat yield has been
lost because of last winter's drought, according to the
chairman of the Economy Branch of the Agricultural Center.
The announcement was made at an emergency meeting of the
Agricultural Lobby in the Knesset and the heads of the
country's various water federations.
At the meeting, which focused on Israel's serious water
crisis, it was reported that according to statistics of the
Federation of Field Workers, this year's wheat yield will be
only 3000 tons, as opposed to the 150 thousand tons produced
in most years. The difference will be made up through import
of wheat from the United States.
Head of the Agricultural Center, MK Shalom Simchon, said that
the water shortage is becoming increasingly severe. Within a
number of weeks, said Simchon, the water level in the country
will reach the Kinneret's red lines. He said that within a
number of weeks, water shortages in various areas in the
country are expected.
MK Eli Goldschmidt said that the government's disregard of
the farmers stems from a lack of systematic legislation
regarding their water rights. He announced that he would take
steps to regulate agricultural water rights through
legislation, so that farmers will not be dependent on any
particular Government to insure their water requirements.
Secretary of the National Kibbutz Movement, MK Avshalom
Vilan, said that the source of the water problem is the
hundreds of cubic meters of sewage water flowing into the sea
instead of being utilized. He stressed that the government
must include investments in water infrastructure in its
foundation lines, as well as projects to recycle sewage water
to agriculture.
Chairman of the Kinneret Administration, Tzvi Ortenberg,
decried the public's indifference to the water shortage. He
said that had we cut down on municipal water consumption, it
would have been easily possible to save 20 million cubic feet
of water, an amount which constitutes 30 centimeters of the
Kinneret's height: water which will be lacking this summer.
Ortenberg warned that if next winter is also very dry, the
entire water system is liable to totally collapse.
