By Mehmet Can Toptas and Emir Yildirim
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish women farmers will have greater representation in agricultural projects under a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) quota aimed at increasing income-generating opportunities for them.
Aysegul Selisik, assistant representative of Türkiye at the FAO, told Anadolu the organization applies a 30% women’s quota in all its projects and vocational training programs, with participation often exceeding 60%.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Selisik said women are actively involved in agriculture worldwide, making up more than 50% of the agricultural workforce in Türkiye and globally.
However, many women working in agriculture are not formally recognized in the labor force, despite family-run businesses ensuring food security by producing “80% of the food the entire world consumes.”
She noted that agriculture became a key sector, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, and that women have played an instrumental role, especially through women-led cooperatives.
“Women are actively working in many sectors—we even have women entrepreneurs in agriculture—but they face many difficulties,” she said. “They can’t access equal opportunities or benefit from formal employment.”
“Women are more at a disadvantage when it comes to formal employment in the agricultural sector. Despite this situation applying to all workers, it affects women more,” she added.
Selisik said the FAO and Türkiye’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have been implementing a cooperative support program since 2019, which includes vocational training for agricultural workers.
“Nearly 1,500 farmers have benefited from these trainings, and more than 50% of them were women,” she said.
The digital platform Hep Yerinden, developed in collaboration with the FAO and the Turkish Agriculture Ministry, allows agricultural workers to market their products. Selisik said the FAO is also working with Turkish national bank Isbank to integrate the platform with Pazarama, an e-commerce marketplace, giving users access to products sold on HepYerinden.
She noted that this initiative has motivated women cooperative members. “Because their products sell, they want to produce more, and they continue to do so with their businesses and family farms,” she said.
Selisik added that the FAO provides personal development, financial literacy, and design training at cooperatives, along with financial support. She noted that cooperatives in provinces affected by the February 2023 earthquakes are receiving assistance from other cities.
“Maybe 2,000 to 3,000 people benefited from these, but this had a significant impact, and now there are a lot of cooperatives taking this as an example,” she said.
“We are currently working in Mount Ida (also called Mount Kaz, located in northwestern Türkiye), where we cooperate with the Global Environment Facility,” she added. “Women started this solidarity movement, but men are also involved. However, women are definitely the drivers of this work—we need to continue supporting women in agriculture, especially in rural areas.”