Community
Educating Future Scientists
We collaborate extensively with partners in leading academic institutions, to promote excellence and encourage chemistry and agriculture studies, in order to train the future generation of agro-chemists.
Chemistry Studies
ADAMA Center for Novel Crop Protection Delivery Systems
In 2019, ADAMA and Tel Aviv University launched a unique research and teaching program on active substance delivery and formulation, an innovation and growth driver in the worlds of agriculture and crop protection. The collaboration combines the commercial industry with academia, training advanced degree research students in chemistry, life sciences, and engineering in the delivery and formulation of active crop protection substances, a field in desperate need of more experts.
ADAMA invested in a world-class research laboratory that was established in the Tel Aviv University School of Chemistry, where students carry out the program’s research and lab experiments. In 2020 ADAMA awarded scholarships to 6 students from a range of disciplines such as chemistry, materials engineering, and plant sciences, who earned their advanced degrees with a specialization in delivery and formulation. This Program provided students with access to ADAMA’s state-of-the-art laboratories in which they can conduct experiments and will receive practical training from our experienced researchers.
Marie Curie and Archimedes Programs for Excellence in Chemistry
In these unique educational programs, outstanding chemistry students from the Israeli periphery can start their undergraduate studies in chemistry as early as grade 10. This program is the fruit of our collaboration with local municipal authorities, the Ministry of Education, various NGOs, and local universities in Beer Sheva and Haifa, Israel. Students who completed the programs over the years continued their advanced studies in chemistry, some of them even integrated into work in the agrochemical industry. In 2020, 76 students participated in the Marie Curie and Archimedes programs.
“Chemistry Deep Dive” from Kindergarten through Ninth Grade
This enrichment program for children and teenagers, taking place in chemistry labs, in collaboration with the local municipality’s education department and the Ministry of Education.
Scholarships
ADAMA awards scholarships to outstanding students in chemistry and chemical engineering at Ben-Gurion University and the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering in Beer Sheva and Ashdod. The company also awards scholarships to doctoral students in chemistry at leading academic institutions in Israel, who are conducting research in fields that align with ADAMA’s R&D activities.
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During 2020, ADAMA has granted over 34 scholarships.
Agriculture Studies
ADAMA has initiated numerous projects that focus on educating the community about environmental sustainability. These projects emphasize the development of commitment, responsibility, and awareness of environmental sustainability among the younger generation.
Sowing Seeds of Science
Initiated in 2013, “Sowing Seeds of Science” is ADAMA’s flagship program, and it continues to form the backbone of our social investment strategy. In conjunction with the Ministry of Education and the local authorities, ADAMA invested in several agricultural farms near our sites (the cities of Ashdod, Beersheba and Lod) and turned them into hubs for research and experimentation, as well as to encourage agricultural studies. Each farm has a state-of-the-art, computerized research greenhouse, technology tools and computer classrooms, providing a hands-on environment that promotes effective learning. The farms supplement and enrich the regular school curriculum, offering laboratories for agricultural and environmental studies which help students develop research skills and achieve real field-driven results.
Thousands of students visit the educational farms each week, gaining experience in scientific research and development using innovative technology to create tangible solutions to today’s agricultural challenges. The students are supervised by educational staff at the farm, content experts from the academic world, and ADAMA employees who volunteer their time.
In 2019, ADAMA added a new research greenhouse to the program, located in the city of Lod. The new facility covers an area of 250 square meters and represents a 40% increase in the number of students the program can serve. The project is implemented among students from a broad range of cultures, religious groups and economic sectors, which reflects Lod’s population mix.
As part of this project, ADAMA initiated a collaboration with the Volcani Center, a leading agriculture research organization, which included educational field trips to the Center to enrich the top students in the program. Visits were also arranged for the farms’ educational staff, to deepen their agricultural knowledge and pedagogical abilities.
During 2020, we continued our support of two supplementary programs at the farms that focus on nutrition and healthy lifestyle, and innovation.
Furthermore, as part of our ongoing assessment of our social impact, we initiated an evaluation and measurement process of ADAMA’s flagship program “Sowing Seeds of Science,” which is accompanied and managed by a professional in this field. To ensure its success, we engaged and involved our social partners and conducted interviews to create a measurement tool to set our social impact goals accordingly.
This tool is set to be completed during 2021 and will be used in the upcoming 2021 school year.
Sustainability Education
For over a decade, we have invested in sustainability programs, recognizing the need to develop a commitment to and awareness of environmental sustainability among the younger generation.
Children Leading Change and ADAMA Trustees
These two programs are designed to provide environmental and sustainability education at schools in Israel. The programs are implemented in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Green Network, and local educational institutions in Ashdod, Lod, and Beer Sheva – areas in which ADAMA operates. We focus on teaching elementary school-age children about sustainability.
We do this based on our belief that finding technological solutions that allow for sustainable environmental management, no matter how good, will not bring about the necessary change without the appropriate values-based education.
Ecological Gardens
As part of our sustainability efforts, we invest in creating and supporting “ecological gardens” in dozens of schools in Israel to emphasize the connection between agriculture and the environment. Thanks to this investment, children learn about the principles of sustainability through hands-on activities, and they experience a direct connection with the planet, plant life, and the variety of wildlife that flourishes in the ecological garden.
"Working the Land Together"
In 2018, we initiated a new partnership with the Israel Nature & Heritage foundation (INHF), a voluntary association founded to protect and conserve Israel’s nature, landscape, and heritage sites, which works in collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA). The project is an annual educational Program for Jewish and Bedouin pupils that takes place in Tel Beer Sheva National Park.
Looking Ahead
Innovation
Implementation of new aspects of technology, innovation and agrotech in our educational projects.
Collaboration
Intensifying collaboration within the communities near our sites, to strengthen the connection and commitment to sustainability.
GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards
GRI 103, GRI 102-12, GRI 413-1
Sustainable Development Goals
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.