Farmers conserve scarce water for their crops after the rainy season, November to April, ends. “That is the circumstance of 70 percent of Africa,” Robinson says. So he proposed that Sweet Unity Farms experiment with drip irrigation, which was developed by the Netafim agrotechnology business at Kibbutz Hatzerim. The system maximizes available water by controlling the amount that flows through the holes in the pipes, and it is credited with increasing Israel’s agricultural production. “Israel’s involvement in advanced agriculture is something that is well known,” Robinson says during a recent business trip here.
This is not the first time Israel has helped development projects in Africa. For example, one reason the rescue of Entebbe was successful is because an Israeli firm had built the airport.
Robinson’s fellow farmers are enthusiastic working with Israel. There is no concern about political repercussions, or the growing movement to reinstitute the trade boycott of Israel. “We’re a rural farming community,” Robinson says. “Our involvement in politics is very, very little.” Robinson says his efforts to improve farmers’ lives follows in the barrier-breaking footsteps of his father. “My father’s name is synonymous with equality. My father’s medium was baseball. Our medium is coffee. But the objective is the same — equality. We are pleased that this is a continuum of my father’s life.”
What he said.
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