Amidst the ongoing war, and in the interest of ensuring food security and maintaining an uninterrupted supply of fresh tomatoes to the citizens, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to extend support to local farmers engaged in tomato cultivation and aid them in marketing their produce harvested past year.
The Ministry stated that another objective is to boost the supply of local agricultural products to the country's markets during the autumn holidays this year. The total allocation amount is 12 million shekels (almost 3 million euros).
Annually, during autumn, the demand for fresh tomatoes is met equally by local producers and importers. This year, the situation is unique: Turkey's embargo on exports to Israel threatens a shortage of several goods, including fresh vegetables. The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to assist local farmers and encourage them to grow more tomatoes than usual this year.
It is anticipated that the ministerial grants will enhance farmers' confidence and incentivize them to cultivate much larger areas and increase supply to the local market due to reduced import volumes. Another unnamed goal is to try to prevent too sharp a rise in prices due to possible shortages of fresh vegetables.
Source: detaly.co.il