International Agricultural Cooperation

KKL-JNF is the Israel's largest non-governmental organization (NGO) with United Nations status. As an NGO, KKL-JNF is committed to international cooperation activity by addressing key global issues through mutual networking, knowledge sharing and spreading environmental advances beyond Israel's borders. KKL-JNF’s world–class expertise in combatting desertification, water resource management and conserving land through sustainable agriculture and research has earned KKL-JNF its rightful place among the world's leading environmental organizations.

Farming is a vital activity for meeting the world’s food needs and enabling the survival of developing and developed nations alike. Countries with comparable environmental systems to that of Israel learn from KKL-JNF by means of training, seminars and workshops. Through painstaking research and new approaches to sustainable development, KKL-JNF's innovative work has facilitated exchanges between nations, governments and citizens. These communications promote awareness of the need for nations and peoples to come together to tackle challenges of climate change and sustainable agriculture. KKL-JNF cooperates with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the Department of Agriculture of the United States, the Mediterranean Arava Medfly Eradication Project, the Green Revolution in Africa and others.

One of KKL-JNF’s most interesting international projects is now under way in Rwanda, where a model youth village has been set up to educate youngsters for future leadership by establishing agricultural plots, greenhouses and honey-producing beehives. The village will eventually become home to 500 youths. An initial delegation of KKL-JNF staff toured Rwanda in July 2008, examining soil and environmental conditions and working out which species will be suitable for cultivation at the farm. Potential options for the future include the study of cultivation and acclimation methods for different types of fruit trees; genetic conservation of the exotic species of fruit native to Rwanda; cultivation of stands of trees for use as fuel for cooking or heating to reduce felling in the forests; and the introduction of beehives for the production of different types of honey for both local and commercial use.

In Eastern Ethiopia, KKL-JNF and Fair Planet collaborate in the Seeds of Hope project, which aims to provide small-holder farmers with resilient high-quality tomato seeds suitable to semi-arid lands. Since agriculture is the main occupation of more than 80% of the population of this region, the Fair Planet Project improves farmers’ income levels fivefold.

In the Turkana region of Kenya, an area in which all previous attempts at farming had failed because of unsuitable water and soil, high temperatures, drought and pests, an innovative program was established: “Furrows in the Desert” - a training farm where local people work with Israeli experts and volunteers. KKL-JNF, together with the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle, the Rotary Club, Brit Olam, The Arava Institute and Kibbutz Yotvata, is partner to this project. Crops suitable for the local conditions were selected, fertilizers and pest control materials were brought in and water-conserving limans were dug, just as they are at sites in the Negev. Since the project was launched, 132 farms have been established in Turkana, and today local crops include chick peas, beans and melons.

On May 1st in 2015, the International Expo 2015 opened in Milan with the participation of 147 countries. The fair, entitled Feeding the World, Energy for Life, exposed over 24 million visitors to the capabilities of each country to ensure food security for the earth's human population.

The Israel Pavilion, which was co-sponsored by KKL-JNF and the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, presented Israel’s astonishing advances in agriculture, forestry and technology under the banner 'Fields of Tomorrow'. Exhibitions on display included the stories of three generations of farmers who helped make the deserts bloom, KKL-JNF's revolutionary forestry and desert afforestation work, and agricultural technologies such as drip irrigation, digital field management using satellites, and livestock management.