Agricultural technology sector in Israel

Israel is a world leader in agricultural technology with its agtech / agrotech / agritech sector. The advent of Israeli agricultural technology sector in Israel is directly related to the unique environmental and geopolitical conditions of Israel. The sector arose first in the 1950s, with Israel seeking "to make the desert bloom". 60% of the country is covered by desert which led Israelis to develop desert agriculture. Israel faced acute shortages of water, leading to the development of technologies to increase the efficient use of available resources and the invention of high tech agricultural technology.

Background
Sixty percent of Israel is covered in desert. Israel suffered from regular droughts and water scarcity which prompted the country to develop desalination plants to turn sea water into drinkable water.

Drip irrigation
Israeli company Netafim, developed modern drip irrigation technology in order to more efficiently use the scarce water resources available to the country.

Industrial revolution 4.0
Israel's agtech sector underwent significant changes and development during what is nicknamed the 4th industrial revolution. The 4th industrial revolution is in reference to the adoption of advance data analysis and equipment in order to enhance production and productivity. In Israel, this industrial change has also come to effect in the agtech sector. In general major changes occur in the optimization of crop yield and in harvesting techniques. Israel is the world's leader in the production of agricultural technology when it comes to the optimization of yields, reduction of productions costs and pest control. Israel is the second most important global hub of agricultural technology after the United States.

As of January 2023, there are 500 agtech startups in Israel; Israel produces 95% of its own agricultural produce despite only 0.9% of its population working in the sector, it achieves this through agricultural innovations.

Autonomous vehicles
Autonomous tractors and other vehicles used in farming were developed by an Israeli startup called Bluewhite. These vehicles can perform tasks autonomously and remotely.

Precision based technology
In light of the decline of pollinators such as bees and the disruption of natural cycles caused by climate change, Edete developed technology that can collect, when available, natural pollen and artificially release it to flowers at the best time. This allows crops not to rely on uncontrolled insect pollinators which are affected by weather events and instead allows for controlled artificial pollination. This reduces the risk of natural pollination not occurring.

Data analysis
Data analysis can provide insights and increase productivity in the agriculture. The Beersheba based DOTS developed a system that is able to provide soil monitoring and assists agriculturists in checking for overfertilization, environmental protection and wastage.

Investment
The Israeli agtech sector has attracted 7% of global investments in agtech as of 2017. Israel leads the world in investment per capita in agtech, with Israelis received 10-12$ per capita compared to the Americans' 5.8$. In 2016 Israel was in the top 5 countries in agtech investment in total quantity. From 2014 to 2019, Israeli agtech companies raised $759 million. There were 750 Israeli agtech startups in 2018.

As part of Israel's high technology ecosystem the Israeli nonprofit Israel Innovation Institute opened an investment program especially oriented toward agricultural technology called GrowingIL.