August 2026
Over the past two weeks, BARD welcomed two bi partisan delegations of congressional staffers from Washington, D.C., for visits focused on U.S.–Israel cooperation in agricultural research and innovation, organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The visits provided an opportunity to introduce the delegations to BARD’s mission and activities, and to highlight the practical impact of collaborative research supported through the Fund. The visitors heard an overview of BARD’s work from Executive Director Prof. Yoram Kapulnik, followed by presentations showcasing research collaborations addressing key challenges facing agriculture and food security.
There were several research case studies presented by Dr. Eyal Fridman who shared his work on advancing barley breeding through artificial intelligence, Dr. Giorgi Shtenberg who discussed technologies for sensing agricultural conditions in real time. Prof. Ari Schaffer presented research focused on breeding tomatoes to develop healthier, more appealing vegetable snacks. And additional presentations by Dr. Roi Ben-David and Dr. Yuval Cohen, who highlighted efforts to breed wheat for dryland agriculture and develop approaches for growing mangoes under arid conditions.
The delegations also learned from Sarai Kemp, BARD’s Business Development Manager about BARD’s Food Security Technology Accelerator, which aims to strengthen connections between agricultural research, technology development, and industry, helping promising innovations move toward practical application.
The visits offered a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the possible outcomes of U.S.–Israel agricultural research cooperation and to discuss BARD’s vision for the future. They also underscored the importance of continued scientific collaboration in developing innovative, practical solutions to shared challenges in agriculture, food security, and resource management.
