Respect for bananas: Among the recipients of the “Dear Fruit Growers Organization” award last week, a special award was presented to Dr. Yair Israeli, a 83-year-old member of Kibbutz Ein Gev, considered the oldest banana grower in the country, and has been engaged in agricultural research for over 50 years.
The Committee for the Recognition of the Fruit Growers’ Organization convenes once every four years in the presence of the best professionals and decision-makers in the Israeli agricultural industry. This year, the event was held under the banner “Influencing the Future – Harvesting the Fruit” and was invited to the holiday closest to the hearts of fruit growers: Tu B’Shvat. The organization awarded a total of six awards to selected farmers and researchers, who contribute greatly to Israel’s fruit industry.
The distribution of the signals was made in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Director General of the Fruit Growers Association, the Chairman of the Israel Agricultural Association and more, and it took place in Zoom, which did not diminish the excitement.
Among the honored winners was Dr. Yair Israeli, a member of Kibbutz Ein Gev, whose agricultural research has led to groundbreaking discoveries that have greatly advanced the fields of irrigation, pesticides, tissue cultures and banana plant network homes.
His work in ‘Plant m. Agricultural Technologies’ (Experimental Plant) began as early as the early 1970s while a biology student, in the days when banana plantations in the Jordan Valley were still being flooded. Over the years he has become a scientific advisor at various international banana companies, in addition to being a valuable guide and researcher who has made a name for himself in the Jordan Valley and the national banana industry.
Ron Yitzhaki, CEO of Tzemach M. Agricultural Technologies Ltd.: “Yair Israeli’s achievements are a milestone and a source of immense pride for Jordan Valley farmers, the entire plant organization and for the research and development industry in particular. Yair’s work is evident in all areas of banana growing. In Israel, Yair is a model for us to emulate and inspire, and we are already looking forward to the publication of the book of bananas he is working on these days. It is not appropriate for an Israeli doctor to receive the Yakir Award from the Fruit Growers Organization, Agricultural technologies and in the name of organizing the entire plant plant. “