page_title: Desert farming
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Desert farming / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Orly Cactus Pear Farm עברית: חוות צברי אורלי, Original Image Name:חוות צברי אורלי, Notes:זאת חוות הצברים הגדולה בישראל. משתרעת על 1100 דונם, Location:כביש דימונה-ירוחם
context_page_description: Desert farming is the practice of developing agriculture in deserts. As agriculture depends upon irrigation and water supply, farming in arid regions where water is scarce is a challenge. However, desert farming has been practiced by humans for thousands of years. In the Negev Desert, there is evidence to suggest agriculture as far back as 5000 BC. Today, the Imperial Valley in southern California, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine are examples of modern desert agriculture. Water efficiency has been important to the growth of desert agriculture. Water reuse, desalination, and drip irrigation are all modern ways that regions and countries have expanded their agriculture despite being in an arid climate.
context_section_description: Humans have been practicing and refining agriculture for millennia.  Many of the earliest civilizations such as ancient Assyria, Israel/Judah, Egypt, and the Indus River Valley Civilization were founded in irrigated regions surrounded by desert.  As these civilizations grew, the ability to rear crops in the desert became of increasing importance.  There are also instances of civilizations that subsisted primarily in the desert with little irrigation or rainfall, such as various western American Indian tribes.
caption: Prickly pear cactus is grown in arid conditions.
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