California and Israel co-host forum on water and agriculture policy

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will co-host a joint forum on shared issues related to water and agriculture. The forum will bring together Israeli and Californian government officials and researchers to address water/agriculture related issues while also exploring opportunities for future innovation.

The forum will be held on May 25, 2017 in Sacramento, registration and agenda are available here.

“Many of the water and agricultural challenges faced by Israel are similar to those of California.” said Secretary Ross. “Israel’s embrace of technological innovation and climate smart technology has helped them go from a country facing severe water shortages to now having a water surplus. This panel of experts creates a space for us to share best practices and further collaborate on creating effective and sustainable water policy that will be beneficial for California.”

Notable speakers include: The Honorable Uri Ariel, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel; CDFA Secretary Karen Ross; Ms. Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, Ms. Tami Shor, The Israel Water Authority; Karla Nemeth, California Natural Resources Agency; Dr. Jay Lund, University of California’s Center for Watershed Sciences; Mr. Itzik Ben-David, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Consul Gili Ovadia, Israeli Economic Trade Mission to the West Coast.

This forum comes nearly one year after CDFA Secretary Karen Ross led a California delegation to Israel on a California Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy Mission. The goal of the visit was to learn more about Israeli’s successful implementation of climate start strategies related to specialty crops in addressing drought and salinity issues.