CarobWay seals agriculture agreements to boost carob innovation

FoodTech/agriTech start-up CarobWay Ltd, together with Israel’s oldest environmental arm, the Jewish National Fund (JNF-KKL), have kicked off a nationwide research initiative for carob trees. The start-up announces it also sealed agreements with R&D farms and local farming communities in Israel to optimise carob cultivation to develop innovative carob-derived products.

CarobWay currently harvests carobs from key carob forests in several parts of Israel owned by the JNF. The start-up also established its first 70-hectare (173 acre) modern carob grove in the Upper Galilee region. The move was in conjunction with two R&D farms, Hulata and Galilee Agricultural Co, as well as five other collective farms. The venture spearheads a 10-year joint project for combining Israeli agricultural know-how and innovative technology for the intensive cultivation of high-yield carob trees. The project will adhere to sustainability and fair-trade ideals.

The team is conducting broadscale screening of native carob species. This will enable the start-up to develop carob-based products that are in line with food industry needs. “We applied several analytical methods to attain a deeper understanding of various carob species and their unique characteristics specifically so that we can tailor our offerings more adroitly to our clients,” says Udi Alroy, co-founder and CEO of Carobway. “For example, some carob species grow fruit with higher sugar content, albeit with a naturally low glycemic index). These can serve the needs of food and beverage companies seeking viable sugar alternatives. Other trees bear more seeds and so are more suited to the locust bean gum industry.”

Hulata runs a model grove dedicated to R&D, wherein local carob varieties and their cultivation methods from irrigation through to pollination technologies are regularly analyzed by CarobWay staff. The orchard is fully automated and computerized, effectively gathering all cultivation and meteorological data.

The start-up also has made headway in creating innovative carob-centered food products in its private lab. “Carob is a highly nutritious and flavourful fruit, yet its true potential has yet to be realised,” adds Alroy. “We are continually striving to bring the best of this super crop back to the table and to boost the carob value chain.”

As part of the tree survey, CarobWay developed an agri-app for aggregating pertinent field-level data of the various tree species and their attributes. It includes such data as geographical location, tree yield, and seed volumes per pod. Fruit samples also are taken for laboratory analysis to gain a detailed map of their compositional makeup in order to assess nutritional value and functionality for specific supplement and food applications.

CarobWay also sealed an agreement with the JNF-KKL for a nationwide survey of carob trees. The venture has conducted extensive field research to attain a full analysis of domestic trees and identify the most fruitful carob varieties, as well as optimum growing conditions.

The researchers have mapped the country using a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data collection format in which trees are assigned to the closest meteorological station. This enables the researchers to accrue location-based data on such key parameters as rain volumes and humidity levels (both in high and low temperature zones) to identify the most ideal regions for growing carob trees

“There are five species of carob trees that grow throughout Israel,” explains Sohel Zedan, chief forest officer for the JNF and a leading global expert in carob cultivation and agriculture. “Some have been growing wild in forests for thousands of years and are well acclimatized, so have proven resilience to extreme weather conditions and other environmental changes. Most were planted in the 1950’s as part of a major afforestation campaign initiated by the JNF. Many of these deep-rooted perennial trees have long life spans, with the potential to live decades or even centuries. This makes them a highly sustainable, yet low-maintenance crop—traits we look for when selecting the best species to develop.”

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