Israel Educational Agricultural Tour

7 Days and 6 Nights

THE PROGRAM

Day 01: Tel Aviv Arrival
Arrive Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv, A travel agency representative will assist us with baggage claim and customs, then guide us to our comfortable bus, where our English- speaking guide will welcome us to Israel. Overnight: Hotel, Jerusalam.

Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 02: Jerusalam City Tour
After breakfast depart for a spectacular panoramic overlook of the Old City from the Mount of Olives. Walk down hill to the Kidron Valley and enter the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations, also called the Basilica of Agony. We will enter the Old City through one of its ancient gates, then proceed to the Wailing Wall – the remnant of Solomon’s Temple – and touch its ancient stones. View the Temple Mount and view the Dome of the Rock. We will continue to the Pools of Bethesda, the Via Dolorosa and the Arab Market to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – the largest Church in Jerusalem. On to the Jewish Quarter, where we will see the renovated Cardo (the once main north-south colonnaded Roman Street) and its excavations. Afterwards we will drive to visit the birth place of Jesus – Bethlehem. We will visit the Church of Nativity and the Shepherd’s Fields. Arrival to the hotel in Tel Aviv for dinner and overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

Day 03: Farm Visits
After breakfast, meet your professional agriculture guide, Drive to Afikey Emek Hefer Green energy is defined as energy that is produced from sources that do not directly pollute the environment. We produce green energy from cow dung. In the settlements of Emek Hefer, about 8000 dairy cows produce a huge amount of manure (an amount equivalent to a city of 200,000 inhabitants). The manure is evacuated in tankers to the Mtvah (facility for treating agricultural sludge). In the facility, the sludge goes through several processes, each of which results in a different recycled product:

Continue to Netafim Drip Irrigation Drip irrigation is the most efficient water and nutrient delivery system for growing crops. It delivers water and nutrients directly to the plant’s roots zone, in the right amounts, at the right time, so each plant gets exactly what it needs, when it needs it, to grow optimally. Thanks to drip irrigation, farmers can produce higher yields while saving on water as well as fertilizers, energy and even crop protection products. Precision irrigation delivers water and nutrients straight to the roots of each plant in measured doses that keep the root zone at optimal moisture levels. Not more and not less than what the crop needs. Since there is no excessive application of water, and flow rates are moderate, precision irrigation eliminates surface run-off and deep percolation. Designing precision irrigation systems is done according to the soil’s ability to absorb water and to the plant’s consumption, guaranteeing that water stays in the active root zone and is used by the crop. As a result, you grow higher, better yields than ever before. And you use less water to do it. At the end of the day drive to

Oshri Dairy Farm – Moshav Kfar- Vitkin “Moshav” family-farms has 200 milking cows/farm, producing ~43% of the national quota. We will see solar energy system on the roof of the cow shade, producing electricity. Back to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

Day 04: Pomegranate Orchards + R&D Department + Factory Visit
After breakfast, meet your professional agriculture guide, Drive to

Kefar Menachem: Pomegranate orchards, The power of pomegranate antioxidants: While pomegranates have been used medicinally for thousands of years dating back to ancient Babylonia, recently several findings concerning the health benefits of pomegranates and pomegranate juice have made headlines throughout the world.

On to Volcani R&D center Post harvest department : The e main objective of the Institute of Postharvest and Food Sciences is research and development for preservation of shelf-life while keeping the quality, safety and nutritional value of various types of fresh or dry agricultural produce intended for export as well as for local markets. These include foods intended for human consumption, animal feed derived from plants and animals and ornamental use. The institute aims at advancing and supporting Israeli agriculture and contributing to the wellbeing of the farmers and the general public in the country.

Drive to Ram Agriculturee Mechanization Ltd.: Ram Agriculture Mechanization Ltd. is a private family company engages in the import and marketing of agricultural machinery such as: discs, types of cultivators, harrows, fertilizer spreaders, seed drills, drills, pit drills, orchard and lawn mowers, Grape harvesters, spice harvesters and Olive press. Equipment for preparing compost such as: pruning shears, sieves as well as production items such as: agricultural chalks, cardans of all kinds, all types of pins, arms. Back to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

Day 05: Oren Cooperative Fields Corps + Caramel Market Vist
After breakfast, meet your professional agriculture guide, Drive to

Greenhouse Tomatoes in the desert for export – At the end of five years of research, the researchers of the international seed concern Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, succeeded in bringing about a breakthrough in the cultivation of a new tomato variety,
‘Lansor’, the first in the world, with resistance (IR) to the ToBRFV virus (Tomato brown rugose fruit virus), which in the last six years affected over 50% of the tomato crop in Israel and around the world. Israel is the first in the world to start growing the new variety in the agricultural greenhouses in the Gaza Strip. The resistant variety will restore the tomato growing areas and greenhouses, which were destroyed due to the virus, will lead to a significant increase in the tomato crop in Israel, to the reduction and even elimination of tomato imports to Israel and to lower the price of tomatoes for the consumer.

Continue to Oren cooperative field crops – Partnership of Kibbutz Or Hanar, Erez, Carmia and Gevim that grows field crops on an area of 22,000 dunams. The agricultural production of field crops is based mainly on the winter rains as the source of water for cultivation (wheat), a small part of the branch includes other crops (corn, Pea, clover, cotton, hummus) that are irrigated with full or partial irrigation. Irrigation water originates mainly from purified wastewater. Finally we will arrive to the

Carmel Market – The Carmel Market first opened in 1920, some eleven years after the establishment of the city, making it an integral part of the history of Tel Aviv. Whilst much of the trade has now shifted into modern malls and onto the internet, the market is still immensely popular and its narrow street is busy whenever you visit. Back to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

Day 06: Zemach Farm Tour
After breakfast drive North for an Agro Tour at the Zemach Research Farm The tour is made up of a variety of topics which are mentioned below: Growing banana plants in Israel and their unique properties. Understanding the history of bananas and their spread worldwide. The correlation between research and increase in yield. Understanding different technologies and how they influence plant productivity and growth. Food security and profit margins. Arrival to the Sea of Galilee to explore the surroundings. Visit Capernaum, “the Town of Jesus”, and see the synagogue and St. Peter’s house. Continue to Tabgha, site of the miracle of the Fishes and Loaves. Drive to Mount of Beatitudes for a breath-taking view of the Sea of Galilee. Visit the baptismal site of Yardenit. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

Day 07: Departure

After breakfast check out from the hotel and transfer to airport for your onwards journey.

Meal Plan: Breakfast