‘The numbers are unambiguous:’ ICE raids on U.S. farms threaten food production China's economy gets surprise lift from Trump's trade war Trump tariffs would lift US factory jobs, cut overall income, San Francisco Fed says Major Trump 'lie is beginning to unravel': Nobel-winning economist A Nobel Prize-winning economist believes Americans are souring on the Trump administration's draconian immigration policies because they finally realize "they've been lied to" about the inherent "criminality" of people fleeing oppression and looking for steady work inside the United States. ......... "When asked if immigration is generally a good thing or bad thing for the country, a record-high 79% of U.S. adults call it a good thing; a record-low 17% see it as a bad thing." ........ more Americans rejecting Trump's border wall and mass deportation policies. ........ last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared that Los Angeles was not so much a city of immigrants as one of "criminals." And yet, LA officials reported last week "that LA is on track to have the fewest homicides in 60 years." ........ As Americans start to parse fact from fiction being fed to them from the Trump administration's claims that rapists, murderers, and the worst-of-the-worst from "insane asylums" were being released into the streets, Krugman wrote, "it seems to me that the lie is beginning to unravel as it becomes clear that ICE is having a really hard time finding violent immigrants to arrest." ......... "only around 78,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and 14,000 convicted of violent crimes," had made their way over the border. ........ "Meanwhile, Stephen Miller is demanding that ICE arrest 3,000 people a day. Do the math, and you see why they’re grabbing farm workers and chasing day laborers in Home Depot parking lots," Krugman wrote.
I Don't Disapprove of Trump's Strategy, Because He Doesn't Have One When you're a Tariff Man, you don't need reasons ....... Trump’s 50 percent tariff on Brazil for the sin of actually putting a would-be dictator on trial was shocking. But in its own way the 30 percent tariff on the EU is just as shocking — because the EU has done nothing to warrant this tariff, and Trump’s letter doesn’t even hint at any action Europe could take to satisfy him. ......... US nonagricultural exports to the EU face an average tariff rate of 1 percent — that’s right, 1 percent. Agricultural goods face slightly higher barriers, 3.9 percent. Basically, US products already have almost free access to Europe’s market. The EU can’t make trade concessions because there’s nothing to concede. ........... My advice to the EU is to go ahead and retaliate. Trump says he’ll raise his tariff even higher if it does, but how much more damage can he do? And remember, US consumers will eventually pay Trump’s tariffs. .......... there clearly isn’t a strategy, just the prejudices of an ignorant man and his enablers.
Making Immigration Great Again Trump has reminded America that immigrants are people ........ The picture above isn’t a scene from a dystopian movie about an imaginary future U.S. civil war. It’s a photo from last week of heavily armed federal agents conducting an immigration raid in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park............ Fortunately, this show of force ended up being more a show of farce. Area residents, warned of the impending raid, cleared out, leaving the agents to spend an hour or so stomping around an empty park ......... Tom Homans, Trump’s border czar, claims that ICE has the right to detain and question people based on their “physical appearance.” It seems all too likely that at some point one of these raids will turn into a massacre. .......... it’s beginning to look as if there’s more basic decency in the American body politic than is dreamed of in many pundits’ political philosophy. .........
approval of immigration in general is now at a record high
........ voters are twice as likely to support giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship than they are to support deporting them. By the way, in 2023 Congress seemed likely to enact bipartisan legislation that would have opened such a path. But Trump killed it. .......... “They’re not a city of immigrants, they’re a city of criminals,” declared Kristi Noem about Los Angeles last month. Last week city officials reported that LA is on track to have the fewest homicides in 60 years. .......... It's true that many Americans have remained willing to believe that big cities like LA and NYC are scary urban hellscapes, even though they’re quite safe these days......... An aside: There was a period in the 1970s and 1980s when New York, in particular, actually was the kind of scary place people like Trump and Noem claim it still is. As it happens, that sort-of hellscape period coincided with an era when New York had fewer immigrants than at any time before or since ........ ICE is having a really hard time finding violent immigrants to arrest. ....... According to the Miami Herald, only around a third of the people being held in “Alligator Alcatraz” — a cute name, but it’s a concentration camp, pure and simple — have any kind of criminal conviction. .......... there may in total be only around 78,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and 14,000 convicted of violent crimes. .......... Meanwhile, Stephen Miller is demanding that ICE arrest 3,000 people a day. Do the math, and you see why they’re grabbing farm workers and chasing day laborers in Home Depot parking lots. .......
It’s a familiar point that views of immigration tend to be most negative in places with very few immigrants and most positive in places where there are already many foreign-born residents.
............ And the Trumpies — for whom, as Adam Serwer famously observed, the cruelty is the point — are inadvertently humanizing immigrants for Americans who don’t have that kind of daily experience. The nightmarish ordeal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has probably done more to highlight the humanity of immigrants, documented or not, than any number of charts and tables. And while some Americans are instinctively cruel, most are, I believe, instinctively decent. ......... Will the public backlash against Trump’s immigration policies force ICE to stand down? Probably not, although the courts may at least slow the mass arrests. Business may also have a say, as labor shortages disrupt agriculture, construction and more........ In any case, however, harsh anti-immigrant policies are looking like a political loser, not a winner.
When comparing bullet trains (high-speed rail) and airplanes for moving the same number of people over the same distances, bullet trains are generally cheaper per passenger-kilometer for distances up to around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
آج مردان کی سڑکوں پر ہر طرف پی ٹی آئی کے پرچموں کی بہار اور ریلیز عمران خان کے نعروں کی گونج سنائی دیتی رہی، عوام نے بڑی تعداد میں شرکت کر کے ثابت کر دیا کہ تین سال کی بدترین فسطائیت اور اسلام آباد میں نہتے کارکنان پر چلنے والی گولیاں ان کا حوصلہ توڑ سکیں نہ عمران خان اور اس کے… pic.twitter.com/NcNvtmC8C2
Israel is globally renowned for its revolutionary innovations in agriculture, which have transformed it from a desert nation with scarce water resources into one of the world's most efficient and high-tech agricultural producers. Despite harsh climatic conditions, limited arable land, and chronic water shortages, Israel has achieved food security and become an exporter of agricultural technology. Below is a comprehensive, detailed overview of Israel's agricultural innovations:
1. Drip Irrigation: Israel’s Crown Jewel
📌 Inventor: Simcha Blass and Kibbutz Hatzerim (1960s)
📌 Innovation: Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots, drop by drop, minimizing waste.
✅ Key Features:
Minimizes evaporation and runoff
Saves up to 60% more water than traditional irrigation
Delivers nutrients along with water (fertigation)
🧪 Impact:
Used globally in water-scarce regions
Increases yields in arid zones
Enabled desert agriculture in the Negev and Arava deserts
🏢 NaanDanJain and Netafim:
Netafim, based in Israel, is the global leader in drip irrigation systems.
Acquired by Jain Irrigation (India), spreading the technology to over 100 countries.
2. Desalination and Water Recycling
💧 Desalination Plants:
Israel is a world leader in seawater desalination using reverse osmosis.
The Sorek plant (largest in the world at one point) supplies water to 1.5 million people.
♻️ Wastewater Recycling:
Over 90% of Israel’s wastewater is treated and reused for agriculture.
Second highest in the world; far ahead of countries like Spain (~20%).
🌿 Impact on Agriculture:
Makes farming viable even in drought years
Ensures consistent water supply for crops
Reduces dependency on rainfall or natural water bodies
3. Greenhouse and Protected Agriculture
🏠 Advanced Greenhouses:
Israel uses climate-controlled greenhouses equipped with sensors and AI.
Crops are grown year-round, with less water and higher productivity.
🌞 Desert Agriculture:
Greenhouses in the Arava Desert grow peppers, tomatoes, melons, etc.
Evaporative cooling and shading systems maintain optimal conditions.
4. Precision Agriculture
🌐 Technologies Used:
Drones and satellite imaging
Soil sensors
Artificial intelligence and data analytics
GPS-guided tractors and harvesters
📊 Outcomes:
Monitors crop health and irrigation needs
Reduces pesticide and fertilizer use
Increases yield and reduces environmental impact
5. Genetic Engineering and Crop Breeding
🌾 Innovations:
Development of drought-resistant crops
Tomatoes that last longer and resist heat
Sweet cherry tomatoes and long shelf-life cucumbers
🔬 Institutes Involved:
Volcani Center (Agricultural Research Organization)
Hebrew University Faculty of Agriculture
Focus on tailoring crops to local and export markets
6. Biopesticides and Biological Control
🐞 Innovative Pest Control:
Use of natural predators like parasitic wasps to control pests
Biobee (Israeli company) exports biological pest control to over 50 countries
🧪 Environmental Benefits:
Reduces reliance on chemical pesticides
Prevents pesticide resistance
Safer for farmers, consumers, and ecosystems
7. Aquaculture and Desert Fish Farming
🐟 Innovations:
Fish farming in desert areas using brackish groundwater
Use of closed-loop aquaponic systems combining fish farming and plant growth
🏜️ Applications:
Cultivating tilapia and barramundi in the Negev
Integrates waste from fish to fertilize plants
8. Digital Agriculture Startups
🚀 Notable Israeli AgriTech Startups:
CropX: Soil sensing and irrigation analytics
Taranis: AI-powered crop surveillance via drones
Prospera: AI and computer vision for greenhouse monitoring
Fieldin: Farm management software integrating data from sensors and machinery
📈 Global Impact:
These companies are scaling solutions for global agriculture
Attract significant venture capital and partnerships with global agribusinesses
9. Vertical Farming and Urban Agriculture
🌆 Features:
Controlled-environment farming inside buildings
LED lighting systems simulate sunlight
Saves space, reduces transport emissions
🧪 Example:
Israeli firms are experimenting with modular vertical farms for supermarkets and urban areas
10. National Policies and Education
📚 Government and Institutional Support:
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development funds R&D
Strong linkages between universities, kibbutzim, startups, and farmers
🧠 Training for Global Farmers:
Israel trains over 2,000 foreign agriculture students annually
Mashav (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) offers global capacity building in water and agriculture
11. Kibbutz Model and Collective Innovation
👨🌾 Social Innovation:
Cooperative farming (kibbutzim) helped pool resources and innovate
Promoted experimentation and risk-taking in agriculture
Conclusion: Israel as a Global AgTech Powerhouse
Israel’s agricultural innovation ecosystem is not just about technology, but about necessity-driven ingenuity, interdisciplinary research, and collaboration between public and private sectors. What began as survival farming in a desert has evolved into a template for global food security, especially for countries facing climate change, water scarcity, and land degradation.
🌍 Global Lessons:
Smart water use and recycling can overcome natural resource constraints
Innovation thrives in high-pressure, resource-scarce environments
Small nations can lead the world in niche, high-impact sectors
इज़राइल की कृषि में नवप्रवर्तन: एक गहराई से विश्लेषण
इज़राइल ने कृषि क्षेत्र में ऐसी क्रांतिकारी नवप्रवर्तन (innovations) किए हैं, जिन्होंने उसे रेगिस्तानी, जल-संकटग्रस्त देश से एक उच्च-प्रौद्योगिकी कृषि उत्पादक देश में बदल दिया है। सीमित भूमि, कठोर जलवायु और पानी की भारी कमी के बावजूद, इज़राइल ने न केवल खाद्य सुरक्षा प्राप्त की बल्कि कृषि तकनीक का विश्व निर्यातक भी बन गया। नीचे इज़राइल की प्रमुख कृषि नवप्रवर्तन का विस्तार से विवरण दिया गया है:
1. ड्रिप सिंचाई (Drip Irrigation): इज़राइल की सबसे बड़ी देन
🧠 आविष्कारक: सिमचा ब्लास और किब्बुत्ज़ हत्ज़ेरीम (1960 के दशक में)
💡 क्या है: पौधों की जड़ों पर बूँद-बूँद करके पानी पहुँचाना, जिससे पानी की बर्बादी बहुत कम होती है।
✅ मुख्य विशेषताएं:
वाष्पीकरण और बहाव (runoff) को न्यूनतम करता है
पारंपरिक तरीकों की तुलना में 60% तक पानी की बचत
पोषक तत्वों को भी पानी के साथ पहुँचाना (fertigation)
🌍 प्रभाव:
विश्वभर में सूखा-प्रभावित क्षेत्रों में अपनाया गया
रेगिस्तान में भी खेती संभव हुई
अरावा और नेगेव रेगिस्तान में व्यापक उपयोग
🏢 प्रमुख कंपनियाँ:
नेटाफिम (Netafim): दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी ड्रिप सिंचाई प्रणाली निर्माता
नानडन जैन (NaanDanJain) के साथ मिलकर 100+ देशों में समाधान उपलब्ध
2. समुद्री जल का मीठा करना और अपशिष्ट जल का पुनः उपयोग
🌊 समुद्री जल मीठा करना (Desalination):
दुनिया के सबसे बड़े रिवर्स-ऑस्मोसिस संयंत्र (Sorek) में से एक
15 लाख लोगों को पेयजल उपलब्ध कराता है
♻️ अपशिष्ट जल पुनः उपयोग:
90% से अधिक सीवेज का उपचार कर खेती में उपयोग
दुनिया में सबसे अधिक, स्पेन से भी कई गुना आगे
🚜 कृषि पर प्रभाव:
सूखा पड़ने पर भी खेती संभव
जल की सतत आपूर्ति सुनिश्चित
3. ग्रीनहाउस और संरक्षित खेती
🏠 उन्नत ग्रीनहाउस:
तापमान नियंत्रण, सेंसर और एआई से सुसज्जित
वर्षभर उत्पादन संभव
पानी की कम खपत में अधिक फसल
🏜️ रेगिस्तानी खेती:
अरावा क्षेत्र में टमाटर, मिर्च, खरबूजे की खेती
शेडिंग और कूलिंग तकनीकों का उपयोग
4. सटीक कृषि (Precision Agriculture)
📡 प्रयोग में तकनीक:
ड्रोन और सैटेलाइट इमेजिंग
मिट्टी के सेंसर
एआई और डेटा एनालिटिक्स
जीपीएस युक्त ट्रैक्टर
📈 परिणाम:
फसल स्वास्थ्य की निगरानी
खाद, कीटनाशक की बचत
लागत में कमी और उत्पादन में वृद्धि
5. जेनेटिक इंजीनियरिंग और फसल सुधार
🌾 उदाहरण:
सूखा-प्रतिरोधी बीज
उच्च तापमान में टिकाऊ टमाटर
लंबे समय तक टिकने वाली सब्जियाँ
🧪 प्रमुख संस्थान:
वोल्कानी सेंटर
हिब्रू विश्वविद्यालय का कृषि संकाय
6. जैविक कीटनियंत्रण (Biological Pest Control)
🐞 प्राकृतिक कीट नियंत्रण:
परजीवी ततैया जैसे प्राकृतिक शिकारी
कंपनी बायोबी (BioBee) द्वारा 50 से अधिक देशों में निर्यात
🌿 फायदे:
रासायनिक कीटनाशकों का उपयोग घटता है
पर्यावरण और स्वास्थ्य पर सकारात्मक प्रभाव
7. मछली पालन और एक्वापोनिक्स
🐟 रेगिस्तान में मछली पालन:
खारे पानी से मछली पालन
वेस्ट वाटर को पौधों के पोषण में उपयोग
🔁 एकीकृत प्रणाली:
मछली और पौधों की एक साथ खेती (aquaponics)
8. डिजिटल कृषि स्टार्टअप्स
🚀 प्रमुख स्टार्टअप्स:
CropX: मिट्टी और सिंचाई एनालिटिक्स
Prospera: एआई आधारित ग्रीनहाउस मॉनिटरिंग
Taranis: ड्रोन और इमेजिंग आधारित फसल विश्लेषण
Fieldin: फॉर्म मैनेजमेंट सॉफ्टवेयर
9. वर्टिकल फार्मिंग और शहरी कृषि
🏙️ विशेषताएं:
LED रोशनी से नियंत्रित पर्यावरण
शहरों में ताजे उत्पादों की स्थानीय खेती
इज़रायली कंपनियाँ सुपरमार्केट-आधारित फार्मिंग पर काम कर रही हैं
10. सरकारी नीति और शिक्षा
📚 सरकारी सहायता:
कृषि मंत्रालय का R&D में निवेश
विश्वविद्यालयों, किब्बुत्ज़ और निजी क्षेत्र में समन्वय
🌍 वैश्विक प्रशिक्षण:
हर साल 2000+ विदेशी छात्र इज़राइल में कृषि प्रशिक्षण लेते हैं
MASHAV द्वारा विकासशील देशों में प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रम
11. किब्बुत्ज़ मॉडल और सामाजिक नवप्रवर्तन
👨🌾 सामूहिक खेती मॉडल:
किब्बुत्ज़ के माध्यम से संसाधनों का एकत्रीकरण
नवाचार के लिए प्रयोगात्मक वातावरण
निष्कर्ष: इज़राइल — वैश्विक एग्रीटेक अग्रणी
इज़राइल का कृषि नवाचार केवल तकनीक तक सीमित नहीं है, यह जरूरत से उत्पन्न बुद्धिमत्ता, बहु-अनुशासनात्मक अनुसंधान, और सार्वजनिक-निजी भागीदारी का परिणाम है। जिस देश में कभी रेगिस्तानी जीविका मुश्किल थी, वहाँ अब खाद्य निर्यात होता है और तकनीक अन्य देशों के लिए प्रेरणा बनी है।
🌍 वैश्विक सबक:
स्मार्ट जल प्रबंधन से संसाधन सीमाएं पार की जा सकती हैं
