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Press Release
Aris to visit Israel



By JUNE S. BLANCO





BOHOL stands to get more of its arable land in the 2nd District irrigated.

This after Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado is set to visit Israel that has succeeded in turning some of its desert lands into farms through unconventional irrigation methods.

The Philippines may have river systems that can be harnessed to irrigate erstwhile rain-fed rice fields. But, Aumentado pointed out, there are still lands that have remained idle to date because these are far from the irrigation canals, or have higher elevation than the canals – or both.

As such, the solon vowed to look into Israel's agricultural technology in the hopes of expanding the irrigated lands in the province, initially in his district. He estimates the irrigation-hungry lands in Bohol at still 30 hectares.

With this technology, Aumentado expressed confidence that the income of the farmers will definitely increase.

The solon had grabbed the opportunity when the Israeli government invited him and other congressmen to attend the 2018 AgriTech exposition to be held in that country. Historically, the exposition attracts delegates from all over the world.

To help arrange his itinerary to include site visits to demonstration farms, Aumentado is set to meet tomorrow with the Israeli ambassador in the latter's Philippine residence.

Because the coffee meeting will be at his residence, the solon said he expects the meet up to be less formal and therefore more productive, he said.

One of the landmark successes of Israel in the field of agriculture is the irrigation technology called "drip irrigation" that they invented which helped their country turn the desert into productive agricultural lands. This technology has been replicated in many parts of the world especially areas with little rainfall and scarce ground water supply.