The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry has launched its first-ever strategic plan, investing approximately 500 million shekels to reduce the country's dependence on wheat imports.
Currently, Israel grows only 10% of its wheat needs, while the remaining 90% is imported. This reliance on imports was severely impacted, like the rest of the world, by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat supplier. At the war’s onset, Russia blocked Ukrainian exports and even burned crops to prevent wheat from reaching the West.
The ministry's plan announced on Wednesday aims to increase local wheat production to 30%. Israel is an anomaly in the global wheat sector: it consumes a large amount of wheat, yet only 10% is produced domestically. Despite wheat being critical to Israel's food security, used not only for baked goods but also as a key ingredient in livestock feed, only a small portion is grown locally. In the past, flour mills complained that Israeli wheat was of lower quality, but David Levy, CEO of the Israel Field Crops Growers Association, told Ynet and Mamon that recent tests have proven Israeli wheat to be on par with imported wheat.
The ministry stressed that domestic wheat production is vital for both national security and food security. The newly developed plan, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, will boost local agriculture, reduce the country’s near-total dependence on wheat imports, and serve as an economic growth engine for the Negev region, particularly in the T'kuma area.
The war and import difficulties have highlighted Israel’s need to strengthen its food security. As part of the plan, the government has agreed with the Finance Ministry and other bodies to increase the flow of treated wastewater to the Negev for wheat irrigation, based on Israel’s Water Authority plans to expand wastewater treatment plants. This will include supplying millions of cubic meters of reclaimed water for agricultural use by 2050, with an emphasis on wheat-growing regions. An additional 270 million cubic meters of water will be allocated by 2050, and Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, will supply 112 million cubic meters.
In addition, 270 million shekels has been earmarked for installing irrigation infrastructure in wheat fields, along with 150 million shekels for purchasing irrigation equipment. Additional investments will go toward genetic and agro-technical research to improve wheat varieties, as well as establishing a new seed factory and expanding storage capacity.
Currently, global wheat production faces two main challenges: its concentration in a few key countries and the impact of climate change, which threatens the stability of wheat supply worldwide.