Gedera, Israel
May 18, 2009
Growing tomatoes in extreme
weather conditions is no easy task, but over the last 30 years
or so, Israeli agriculture technologies have been designed to
cope with whatever Mother Nature throws at them. It has taken
special software, innovative dew collectors, novel fruit and
vegetable varieties, drip irrigation, integrated pest control
tactics, and state-of-the-art greenhouses, along with some
"mother of invention" - Israeli style.
Faced with the region's desert climate, Israeli agronomists,
entrepreneurs, academics and government agencies started
focusing on agriculture primarily as a means to survive. The
fruits of their labor were on show at the 17th Agritech
exhibition, held May 5th-7th in Tel Aviv.
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The fair drew 231 exhibitors - 175
of them Israelis and the rest from abroad - and over 30,000
visitors, both foreign and local. As opposed to previous
Agritech exhibitions, the impression was that there were fewer
visitors this year (perhaps due to the economic crisis).
Nevertheless, the Seed Companies hall enjoyed a large flow of
people throughout the fair.
Zeraim Gedera
professionals - ranging from product managers to breeders to
marketing managers - were present throughout the exhibition,
welcoming and meeting the wide variety of people who came to our
booth. Our visitors included growers, retailers, exporters and
fresh produce wholesalers, as well as delegations from all parts
of the world, and new and existing contacts. All our guests
enjoyed the fascinating vegetables display, tasting and
relishing our diverse tomato segments.
Zeraim Gedera's Roma type tomato, displayed at the fair, "enjoys
a great taste, high yield and is consumed for cooking as well as
for salads throughout Europe", says Gerry Kelman, ZG's Marketing
Manager, VIM (Vertically Integrated Marketing).
Single and cluster tomatoes were on show, as well as cherry
tomatoes such as the single, cluster, tear drop and taste
varieties.
"One of these varieties is our tear drop-shaped cherry tomato,
recently named Gocha", says Gerry, "which is used for vegetable
salads and consumed as a snack around Europe. The fruit enjoys
exceptional balanced taste, extended shelf-life both on the
plant and post-harvest, and a rather unique shape. At the same
time, the plant carries a heavy yield of fruit. Reactions have
been amazing; a business colleague of mine from the UK has told
me that he cooked Gocha and found that it has a perfect and
distinct tomato flavour with a correct juiciness for cooking."
ZG's baby cucumbers were a big hit at the show and were consumed
frequently by the guests. Also, the red, orange and yellow
blocky peppers were arranged in bowls that surrounded the booth.
It wasn't just star-shaped squash and variously colored peppers
at the center of attention at this year's convention. The
dramatic rise in food prices, as well as global warming and the
increasing lack of precipitation, has made agriculture the
hottest topic worldwide. And so, many countries are searching
for methods to increase agricultural output and reduce water
consumption.
"The emphasis was on the water supply crisis, both for drinking
and agriculture, which is becoming a decisive factor in the
foodstuffs issue," explains Danny Meiri, Chairman of the
Agritech convention. "The spotlight is now on efficient usage of
resources and produce varieties with a longer shelf-life."
As someone who has been involved in such conventions since 1996,
Meiri noted, "This year, more so than in the past, foreign
visitors to the convention were much focused businesspeople, who
knew how to ask the right questions and were guided towards the
most appropriate meetings. The atmosphere in the hall was all
business."
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Many delegations made their way to
the ZG booth and visited our company's site, including those
from Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, India and more.
The large Brazilian delegation was composed of growers, fresh
produce wholesalers and Ministry of Agriculture officials. As a
major tomato producers' market, the Brazilian delegation was
very interested in our tomato portfolio, with its wide range of
segments. In a well presented lecture, the delegates heard about
our different segments and were exposed to our TYLCV-resistant
varieties, which address a problem local Brazilian growers are
currently facing. During their tour of the company's plant and
labs, the delegates also had the opportunity to get a better
understanding of Zeraim Gedera's seed supply chain.
The company's booth was designed as a salad bar that enabled
visitors to taste our shining stars, a unique interactive dining
experience with diverse flavors and a friendly, informal
atmosphere. Everyone was able to create their own entrée from an
amazing variety of fresh, seasonal ingredients, including a
variety of Zeraim Gedera's tomato and cherry tomato types, our
freshly cut, colorful blocky peppers, cucumbers and sweet corn.
Chef Ben Buchwaic, an international-style Israeli kitchen
talent, enriched the diners with his unique variety of freshly
cut salads. |
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