FOCUS Send Christmas packages the convenient way. Can Israeli Innovations Help African Farmers? LAURENCE R. SIMON Packagin Stme Special to The Jewish. News UPS • Federal Express SAVE ON SHIPPING Wepackageodeftwra,toa Convenient Hours: Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 10-2 Extended Holiday Hours Farmington W. Bloomfield Birmingham Southfield 32328 Grand River 6453 Farmington Rd. (At Maple Rd.) (East of Power Rd.) 2523 W. Maple (at Ganbrook) 26087 W. 12 Mile (12 High Plaza) 433-3070 352-8955 474-9730 855-5822 W. Bloomfield Maple & Orchard Lake Rd. (INSIDE THE ORCHARD MALL) YOU'LL FIND MORE PARTS IN THE BRACELET OF THIS AWARD-WINNING THALASSA THAN YOU WILL IN A ROLLS-ROYCE® ENGINE* You're looking at the bracelet of what is perhaps the most beautiful watch in the world: the award-winning Thalassa. We've taken it apart to make a point about the excellence of this superb, water-resistant timepiece. In the pell-mell rush to praise technology, people often lose sight of the thing that makes watchmaking the art it is: handcrafting. Jean Lasalle never forgets. It takes us 656 parts to craft each exquisite gold and steel Thalassa bracelet. Twelve to a link. Fifty-six more than in the engine of a Silver Cloudrwhich has a mere 600 major A N moving parts. Every single one of those parts is slipped precisely into place by hand. If you've ever struggled with the tiny parts of a model ship you know what that entails. Perhaps we could have built this Thalassa bracelet with fewer parts. But then, it wouldn't be as supple, as flexible, or as fitting. With fewer parts, Thalassa might still have won the Laurel d'Or in Monte Carlo as Watch of the Year. And no one would have noticed. But we'd know. And you'd know. And that makes all the difference in the world to us. L A A L E Perhaps the most beautiful watch in the world. David Wachter & Sons THE FAMILY OF AWARD-WINNING JEWELRY DESIGNERS. Downtown Birmingham • 540-4622 Renaissance Center, Detroit • 259-6922 Certified Gemologists. Members American Gem Society The names "Rolls-Royce" and "Silver Cloud" are registered trademarks. 'There are 600 major internal moving parts in the engine of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. 44 Friday, December 5, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS « 11985, Jean Lasalle, Inc. extraordinary n meeting took place not long ago, in con- junction with the United Na- tions' special session on the crisis in Africa. While world leaders gathered at the United Nations, urgently seeking solutions for the pov- erty and hunger which afflict the majority of Africa's 550 million people, Israeli univer- sities and research institutes conducted a series of brief- ings on how Israel has trans- formed a hostile natural environment into productive agriculture. Not unlike nations in Af- rica which suffer periodic drought and famine, Israel has had to develop agricul- ture in the desert in order to survive. Unlike Africa, how- ever, it has had the technical and financial resources to undertake the world's most important desert research. Among the most pressing problems faced in Africa today is falling productivity in agriculture. Recently I had the oppor- tunity to tour Israeli agricul- tural institutions and to speak at length with resear- chers and farmers in the Negev. One of the first sur- prises in Israel is finding that there are hundreds of Afri- cans and others who come each year for training, in- cluding techniques of water harvesting and conservation. They learn that what others see as harsh constraints on development in the desert can be transformed into major assets. The Blaustein Interna- tional Center for Desert Studies has recreated and improved upon the ingenious methods of the ancient Neba- tean civilization for collecting the runoff from short but in- tense showers which are characteristic of the desert. Once again, olives, almonds, apricots, pistachios, barley and wheat are growing in the desert without supplementary irrigation and relying only on the annual rainfall of less than four inches. The abundant desert sun- shine is being harnessed in low-cost plastic silos, in- vented by the Volcani Center, which st-erilize crops and have reduced post-harvest loss to less than one percent. This simple and appropriate technology has significant . potential benefits to the av- erage African nation which is currently losing upwards of Laurence R. Simon is president of the American Jewish World Service international relief and development agency, and a geographer by training. 40 percent of its basic grains due to inadequate storing facilities. Ben-Gurion University is pumping brackish water from a full kilometer beneath the Negev to irrigate desert fields where saline-tolerant vegeta- bles are growing. Water is conserved in the high evap- oration climate by drip irri- gation techniques which di- rect water only to the root system and leave the sur- rounding soil dry. Closed system desert greenhouses with four times the carbon dioxide level of air are propagating plants at up to three times normal growth rates. Hebrew University is cultivating fruit not only with the now-familiar aquaponics (without soil) but through aeroponics where plant root systems are sus- pended in a nutrient mist without soil or water. Africans know that much of what is being developed in Israel would be inappropriate for Africa. Technology trans- fers to nations of extreme poverty often lead to a greater erosion in the ability of the poor to feed them- selves. Innovation in agricul- ture in developing nations must serve the interests of the small farmer who is still the major producer of food- crops for local consumption. It should help to meet the basic. needs of the poor,• to raise family income and nut- rition. Technologies cannot be packaged and transplanted from one society to another without regard for the environmental, social and administrative contexts into which they are being placed. It is the environmental problems that Israel shares with many poor nations. Is- rael's experience in solving problems common to the drought-prone nations of Af- rica offers an unparalleled opportunity for international cooperation. While some technologies hold promise to be transferred with little adaptation, the most valuable Israeli contribution will be in applying its experience and hard-learned principles of desert agriculture in ways appropriate to Third World problems and resources. Population Figures Show Sharp Decline lel Aviv (JTA) — The world Jewish population is decliri- ing rapidly and may be re- duced to a total of six million within one generation, ac- cording to a report of a demographic study presented to the World Zionist Organ- ization Executive last Monday. Diaspora Jewry is rapidly dwindling due to intermar-