Agro-Industry Development in a Peripheral Region: The Galilee Mushroom Industry Case Study

Agricultural settlements at Israel’s mountainous northern border have long faced constraints related to limited land and water resources. Edible mushroom cultivation requires minimal land and relatively low water inputs and was identified as a suitable agro-industrial activity for the region. Therefore, national settlement institutions initiated the establishment of mushroom farms based on Dutch cultivation technologies and guidelines. Approximately 25 small-scale farms, each consisting of two to three growing rooms, were established, together with a centralized compost production and marketing infrastructure serving the entire region. Production focused on the white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus); however, most crops failed, due to lack of uniformity and quality of the compost resulting in economic losses and the closure of most farms. These failures highlighted the need for locally adapted applied research. In response, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture commissioned the National Agricultural Research Institute (Volcani Institute) to establish a dedicated research program. For this purpose, a research group was established by the Northern R&D organization at MIGAL-Galilee Research Institute. The group facilities included a research center at MIGAL in Kiryat Shmona, and a quality control and service laboratory and extension located at the regional infrastructure. This group’s applied research addressed key production bottlenecks mainly the quality and uniformity of the compost, and continued R&D efforts to improve efficiency. The group’s extension held close collaboration with the growers that facilitated the implementation of research findings in commercial production. The results of the research and their implementation by the producers led to professional and technological improvements that increased output per area unit from 65 kg/m2/year (1980) to 270 kg/m2/year, currently, and enabled the industry in the north to grow and establish itself as the center of mushroom cultivation in Israel, and serve as a major source of employment and livelihood in the Galilee. This progress was achieved without any specific government subsidy for this industry.