Turkey-FAO partnership enters second phase

By Dilara Zengin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will contribute $20 million in the second phase of its agricultural partnership program with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Turkish minister for food, agriculture and livestock said on Tuesday.

Ahmet Esref Fakibaba said: “Turkey offered $10 million in the first phase, which was used for 28 projects launched in the Central Asian countries.”

He was speaking in Ankara at the inauguration ceremony for the second phase of the program, which was signed in 2006. In 2014 Turkey agreed to enter its second phase.

Vladimir Rakhmanin, assistant director-general and regional representative for Europe and Central Asia in the UN agency, thanked Turkey for its continuous support to promote food security and agriculture development in the region.

He said that the during the second phase of the program Turkey’s experiences in the sector will be shared with other countries in the region.

Rakhmanin added Turkey shows an annual 5 percent growth in agriculture production, making it one of the largest agriculture producers in the world.

He said that in the second phase of the program, due to end in 2020, they will promote sustainable development.

The program includes projects on conservation agriculture, food safety, empowering rural women, nursery development, agriculture productivity, soil carbon mapping, seed development, cattle production improvement, and responsible fisheries management.

Countries benefiting from the program are Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Turkey.