JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A governmental grant program to halt the sharp decrease in the number of farmers in Israel was revealed on Wednesday, said Hebrew-language newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth."

Prepared by Israel's Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, the grants will be awarded totaling 45 million new shekels (about 12.4 million U.S. dollars) to young people who would agree to work in agriculture and former farmers who would return to the field, according to the plan.

The declining number of farmers in Israel stems from lack of support by the state, low profitability and hard-physical work.

The average age of Israeli farmers is over 60, and the declining number will also reduce crop production.

The number of farmers in Israel is currently below 15,000, compared with 65,000 in the 1970s. The rate of Israeli farmers out of the total population is only 0.58 percent.