1 2 3 4 94 95 Chapter Six | Agriculture Packing houses Gush Ka�f flower growers transported their produce to the flower packing house in Ne�vot; the largest central packing house in the region serviced the vegetable growers (YAKAL - a Hebrew acronym for Ka�f Vegetables for Export); and five other packing houses provided services for the insect-free leafy vegetables des�ned for the domes�c market. As procurement officers' demands increased and farms expanded, some farmers established their own packing houses that met all the required criteria.26 GSF- Gaza Strip Farms When state ins�tu�ons distributed the territories to the first farmers of Gush Ka�f, they discovered that the produc�on means available to the se�lers were insufficient for their subsistence. Therefore, addi�onal open fields in the northern Negev, were designated for the seven agricultural se�lements in Gush Ka�f. These plots stretched across 2300 hectares, and included field crops, vegetables - potatoes and peanuts, citrus orchards, avocado and jojoba planta�ons, a factory for the produc�on of jojoba oil, packing houses and cold storage houses for export and the local market. These fields are cul�vated, operated and managed, to this day, with the coopera�on of all locali�es, and the proceeds are also divided accordingly. A�er several years of opera�on, a water reservoir was established on the site to u�lize every drop of water that is collected from the area. 27 The hardships Despite the impressive development of agriculture in Gush Ka�f, things rarely went smoothly. The farmers incurred losses, and problems popped up from different direc�ons. The main challenge was security. Constant a�acks on the roads meant movement was a life-threatening ac�vity. The a�acks began in 1987, intensified during the Oslo Accords and peaked from 2000 un�l the displacement. The results were instant. Arab laborers were o�en refused entry, and much of the harvest was not delivered to its des�na�ons. Roadblocks became almost rou�ne, preven�ng goods from reaching the market. It was necessary to take inexperienced Jewish workers with neither knowledge nor mo�va�on - which in turn heavily damaged the farms. Bureaucracy posed another challenge when farmers ventured to employ foreign laborers when neither the Arabs nor Jews a�ended. On top of these, the Arab popula�on carried out acts of sabotage, and water and electricity outages became prevalent, affec�ng irriga�on, the quality of the produce and more. The main crops to suffer were short-term crops with a limited window to get them to market, like roses, for example; any malfunc�on, even the smallest, slowed down or stopped marke�ng altogether, and all the effort invested in them went down the drain. As a result, farmers had to stop growing '�me-cri�cal crops' and favor new branches that were more suitable for the living condi�ons in the area.28 Another issue was pests. Year a�er year, the quality of produce decreased, requiring me�culous and expensive methods to fight them.29 The introduc�on of compe�tors in different areas gave rise to the need for constant evolu�on in the quan�ty of produce, its quality, innova�ons, and further investments of money, crea�vity, and hard work. Consequently, those who could not invest and evolve had to move to other occupa�ons, and some leased their land to larger farms. It perpetuated a situa�on where those who remained in the industry were the larger businesses that dominated vast areas owned by several farmers.30 If these were not enough, Gush Ka�f farmers faced a unique and intricate situa�on: a poli�cal Arab boyco� of the region's produce, accompanied by extensive propaganda that spread to non-Arab businesses as well. Thus, apprehension of 'poli�cal' losses was added to every farmer's uncertainty regarding the price of the produce on the day of delivery and the remaining income. The sense of mission shared by Gush Ka�f farmers was severely debilitated. Coping strategies Here, the unique characteris�cs of Gush Ka�f farmers were fully manifested. Not only did they never break down, quite the opposite. Help came from two primary sources: First and foremost, their strong belief in God, their mission and the land that was handed to them. It served as their source of strength, a coping mechanism vis-a-vis the hardships, and a fountain of op�mism and hope. Their strong faith led them to build magnificent farms out of the barren land, making the desert bloom (literally) and withstanding all the tribula�ons throughout the years un�l the last minute. The second source was moral, financial and technical support from various organiza�ons and government agencies - the Se�lement Department of the Jewish Agency, the Hapoel HaMizrachi Moshavim Union and the Ministry of Agriculture.31 In addi�on to these two, the farmers knew how to turn the disadvantages into advantages. In the first years, the farmers grew together with their seedlings. The principal part of the work was learning what the plants needed and overcoming the exis�ng environmental condi�ons. Agricultural instructors sent by the Ministry of Agriculture to assist the farmers were educated on the laws of the land together with the farmers. Although they had a bit more knowledge to start with, the farmers revealed to them what the op�mal condi�ons for the plants would be, and it was not always clear who the teacher and the student were. The inexperienced farmers never felt inferior to the instructors because both learned from mutual experience. Thus, the first disadvantage of Gush Ka�f farmers quickly became an advantage, and they were the ones to contribute knowledge to the Ministry of Agriculture.32 Given their need to become more efficient, economical and profitable, the farmers conducted many experiments with the assistance of researchers from the 'Desert Studies Ins�tute.' Prof. Yi�ah Ben Asher, the ins�tute's director, said with sa�sfac�on that the sandy soil was found to be a treasure worth its weight in gold. Sand, drip irriga�on and fer�lizers were discovered as a winning combina�on. Together with the researchers, the farmers realized that their humble star�ng point in Gush Ka�f—the scarce precipita�on, sandy soil and much sunlight—would eventually become their most significant advantage, second to none, domes�cally and globally. These opening data accelerated research and the development of methods for minimal water consump�on and efficient irriga�on throughout the region, producing the highest yield worldwide. Thus, sandy soil, which lacks minerals and permeates quickly, became the best substrate for many crops. This soil receives its nutrients in a controlled and uniform manner and with slow and efficient irriga�on for each plant, resul�ng in quality and quan�ty that keeps improving from crop to crop. Improved irriga�on gradually saved water for farmers, increased the health and uniformity of crops and boosted their quality.33 1 'Bikurei Ka�f' factory in Kfar Darom 2 Towards an agricultural exhibi�on 3 Workers at the packing house 4 Gush Ka�f tomatoes - the region's trademark
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