The Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, previously known as the Agricultural Research Station of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is an Israeli agricultural research center. It serves as the research arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the State of Israel and provides research opportunities for local and international scientists at post-graduate levels, as well as educational opportunities for Israeli and international youths, farmers and scientists. The organization supports Israeli agriculture research, focusing on plant sciences, animal sciences, plant protection, soil and environmental sciences, food sciences, and agricultural engineering. The organization was founded in 1921 in Ben Shemen, Israel, by Yitzhak Elazari Volcani, for whom it is named.HistoryDuring 1921, in the city of Ben Shemen, the Jewish Agency established the Agricultural Experiment Station under the leadership of Yitzhak Elazari Volcani. It was the first scientific institute in the British Mandate of Palestine. The station was established in response to a proposal by Chaim Weizmann and Arthur Ruppin, who recognized the need to advance agriculture in Israel. In 1932, the station was moved to Rehovot. In 1951, its control was transferred to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture (Israel having been created in 1948), and the station was renamed the Agricultural Research Station (ARS). When Volcani died in 1951, after a directorship of thirty years, the organization was renamed the Volcani Center in his honor. In the 1950s, the station was relocated to its present campus at Beit Dagan, and in 1971, the ARS became part of the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.