The Samuel Neaman Institute has released the third interim report of the Israel Food Security 2050 project, presenting a comprehensive roadmap for leveraging innovation and R&D to ensure national food security by mid-century. Authored by Prof. Eyal Shimoni and Sima Tziperfal, the report emphasizes the critical role of technology-driven innovation in addressing future food production challenges.
“Food security is not solely an agricultural goal—it is a systemic challenge that demands long-term vision, coordination across government, industry, academia, and consumers, and the advancement of innovation tailored to a changing reality of climate crisis, population growth, and growing dependence on imports,” says Prof. Eyal Shimoni, the study’s lead author.
To schedule an interview with Prof. Eyal Shimoni: eyal@sni.technion.ac.il
The full report is available at the Samuel Neaman Institute’s website:
https://www.neaman.org.il/en/innovation-and-rd-for-achieving-food-security-goals-in-israel-2050/
Report Highlights
- Mapping of critical needs in natural resources, agriculture, industry, logistics, consumption patterns, and policy
- Analysis of economic, technological, and regulatory barriers
- Assessment of promising technologies—from smart irrigation and vertical farming to alternative proteins
- A proposed national action plan that includes technology prioritization, targeted incentives, cross-sector collaboration, supportive regulation, and measurable success indicators
Key Recommendations
- Develop a national action plan with prioritized technologies based on short-, medium-, and long-term horizons, including adoption potential and ongoing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
- Advance supportive regulation and policies, including regulatory barrier removal, fast-track approval for novel foods, anti-food-waste regulation, and public sector preference for local products
- Provide targeted financial incentives and investments, such as expanded R&D grants, dedicated innovation funds, subsidies, and tax benefits for scalable technologies
- Strengthen infrastructure—physical, technological, and human—through investments in agricultural water, cold storage, logistics, innovation hubs, workforce training, agricultural automation, and knowledge accessibility
- Foster innovation ecosystems to support R&D, field demonstrations, commercialization, and technology adoption by farmers and the food industry
- Promote cross-sector collaboration to bridge research and real-world implementation
- Drive cultural change in consumption, through long-term education, national campaigns, economic support, and accessible information for healthy and sustainable diets
- Build knowledge infrastructure, including a national database and data-sharing platforms to support evidence-based policy
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About the Samuel Neaman Institute
The Samuel Neaman Institute is a national public policy research think tank focused on harnessing higher education, science, engineering and technology for the prosperity and resilience of society and state.
