WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (A.R.S.) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (M.O.A.R.D.) of the State of Israel signed a formal agreement in Washington on Aug. 10 to collaborate on research to meet the world's food and fiber needs and address other high-priority agricultural issues, according to A.R.S.’s Ann Perry.

A.R.S. and M.O.A.R.D. scientists will conduct cooperative research focusing on key bilateral and global agricultural development issues, such as climate change, international food security, alternative energy production, precision agriculture, sustainable natural resources management, capacity building and rural development under the five-year agreement. Specific areas of interest include animal production, food safety and quality, water management and technology and more.

The new agreement will complement existing collaborative research activities supported by the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (B.A.R.D.), a program created in 1978. B.A.R.D.-sponsored research has led to new technologies in livestock, poultry, drip irrigation, pesticides, fish farming, disease control and farm equipment.