By Mustafa Calkaya and Zeynep Canli
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey will assume a leading role in implementing the green development revolution, the country's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said on Tuesday.
"In terms of developing sustainable agricultural practices and combating climate change, within the scope of the "Green Deal," we started our work on the food system," he said at the 7th Sustainable Food Summit and World Food Day Meeting in Ankara.
Noting that agriculture and food are the leading sectors that will be most affected by climate change, Pakdemirli said with the effect of climate change, a 10-25% decrease in agricultural yield is estimated until 2050.
Pointing out that Turkey is a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, the minister said: "We care about raising a wider awareness of climate change, with attaching importance to increasing soil fertility."
He stated that as a result of the support and training activities provided, the area of good agricultural production increased 42 times and the organic agriculture production 2.5 times in the last 10 years.
Many projects are continuing to develop and expand good agricultural practices and organic farming activities, he said, adding, "90% of the food is produced directly or indirectly from the soil."
Noting that it is necessary to use soil and water resources effectively in agricultural activities without polluting them, he said, "Our efforts to efficiently utilize animal and agricultural wastes in the field of energy with modern biomass methods are increasing. Again, we conduct monitoring studies at 4,836 stations in order to detect agricultural-based pollution and identify nitrate-sensitive areas."
In order to protect agricultural lands and make appropriate planning, the minister said the characteristics of these soils should be known and their quality should be determined.
For this purpose the "National Project for the Establishment and Mapping of the Soil Database of Turkish Agricultural Soils" was carried out on 50,000 soil samples.
The EU considers climate change and environmental degradation a great threat to Europe and the world.
To overcome these challenges, it hopes to develop a new growth strategy that will transform the union's economy into a sustainable one.
The EU aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
* Writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer in Ankara