Gush Katif Produces Bug-Free Vegetables

June 26, 2005

Eliezer Barat, the company’s CEO, remembers growing up on a moshav (cooperative settlement) when his father’s lettuce was inspected: “To test for bugs, they would take a head of lettuce and shake it over a piece of white paper. If less than four bugs fell out, the crop was considered good; if there were more than four, it was rejected. Today, if we find more than four bugs per dunam [one-fourth of an acre], we reject the crop.”

The vegetables are grown in hermetically sealed greenhouses, and workers wear white lab coats. Alei Katif uses 25 delivery trucks and 50 farmers, who harvest from 125 acres of high-tech greenhouses. It has created 250 jobs in Gush Katif and nearby western Negev towns, but many workers are worried about losing their jobs because of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement Plan. Local Arabs have profited too by learning many advanced farming techniques from Alei Katif.

The venture started 15 years ago, selling mainly to the religious community. Today, they also sell to the general public, and restaurants even advertise that they cook with Gush Katif veggies. Though competitors are now copying the technique, Alei Katif still controls 50% of the market. All profits are either reinvested or go to support the Torah institutions in Gush Katif.

For further information, please contact Alei Katif, Kfar Darom D.N., Gush Katif 79720, Israel; Tel: 972-8-684-7805; FAX: 972-8-684-7040

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