Food Sec & Tech Israel Conference

Food Sec & Tech Israel is the National Conference on Food Security, taking place at Sapir College.
As part of the conference, a special session was held to present research by Volcani Institute scientists.
In the session “Future Agriculture and Food Security,” chaired by Prof. Hinanit Koltai, Head of Academia and External Relations, Prof. Benny Chefetz, Director of the Volcani Institute, along with researchers, presented leading studies on food security in Israel and worldwide.
Here’s a glimpse.

Groundbreaking super-hydrophobic coating

In Dr. Guy Mechrez’s lab, he and his team developed a groundbreaking super-hydrophobic coating. This coating is highly durable against wear and is based on a water-in-oil emulsion. It features self-cleaning, water-repellent, and antibacterial properties. Particles stabilize the coating, which is free from fluorinated chemicals, making it more environmentally friendly.
It can be easily applied using standard coating methods and offers an additional key advantage: low production costs.
The coating’s technology is based on the unique structure of the emulsion, where networks of particles connect the droplets, providing the coating with its remarkable strength and stability.

Computational optics create affordable sensors that aid agricultural monitoring

How can computational optics create affordable sensors that aid agricultural monitoring?
Using imaging and spectroscopy systems, we can gather extensive information about the condition of crops in open fields. However, robust and expensive systems are required to operate under varying conditions to ensure high-quality, industrial-grade data. While hardware costs—electronics, mechanics, and optics—have remained relatively stable in recent years, computational costs remain fixed, and computational capabilities increase yearly. Over the past 20 years, computing power has increased 1,000-fold!
In Dr. Iftach Klapp’s lecture, you will see examples of leveraging this computational power, combining machine learning with physical models to enhance the performance of simple sensors and tailor them to complex agricultural sensing tasks.

Innovative bovine stem cells for cultured meat

Dr. Roni Rak’s lab is the only one focused on cultivated meat in Israel. The lab develops innovative bovine stem cells and study the genetics of cell division and differentiation (the process of becoming specialized cells) using advanced tools such as CRISPR genetic editing. The research investigates how growth conditions influence cell division speed, differentiation, and growth.
This work aids in understanding how to cultivate stem cells on a large scale, a critical capability for the cultivated meat industry in Israel and worldwide.

What the heck is going on with Chocolate?

For the past two years, the price of cacao on global markets has surged dramatically. After a gradual increase, prices skyrocketed over a year ago, reaching levels not seen in many years.

This surge is driven by a perfect storm of challenges: climate change, devastating plant diseases, depleted soils, soaring costs for farmers, and widespread poverty in cacao-growing regions. These factors are severely impacting global cacao production.

Dr. Ellen Graber and her team of scientists at the Volcani Institute foresaw these problems several years ago. In 2019, they launched a pioneering research initiative to address the cacao crisis. Their vision: to develop cacao that is resilient to climate change and pests, environmentally sustainable, and offers superior economic and health benefits.

This initiative aims to understand the factors hindering cacao production and develop practical solutions that farmers can easily adopt.

Interestingly, Israeli farmers are starting to take notice. They want to explore the possibility of cultivating cacao right here in Israel. But is there a viable market for a homegrown Israeli cacao industry? Can we create a “sweet spot” for this unique endeavor?