Speech #890051111

The gross national product has been growing at the almost incredible rate of 10 percent. and per capita income at about 5 percent. Surely this is a record unmatched anywhere. Although over a million immigrants have come to the country. many of them unskilled and penniless. they have been integrated into the countrys burgeoning economic life. Social and welfare services. schools. hospitals. and other public institutions have been created with consummate skill. They provide valuable lessons for others. as many underdeveloped countries have learned to their own benefit. In all fields of human endeavor. from agriculture to industry to education. the astounding progress which this small nation has achieved is truly remarkable. In the field of agriculture. the cultivated area has doubled. and the irrigated area has quadrupled along with production. Although few of the immigrants to Israel had been farmers. they became dedicated to the challenge of turning arid desert into productive soil. Swamps were drained. dunes were anchored by planting vegetation. the soil was improved. and new sources of water were tapped. Now Israel farmers produce threefourths of the countrys food. growing all local requirements except for cereals. grain fodder. and fats. for the production of which there is simply not enough arable land.