Türkiye sets road map for urban agriculture program
In a bid to expand agricultural activities and boost economy, Türkiye rolled out a road map for urban agriculture, which will subsidy activities nearer to the cities
By Daily Sabah With Aa
Istanbul Nov 01, 2022
Excerpt:
Turkish government prepared a three-year action plan for urban agriculture, getting the conventionally rural activity closer to the cities. The plan includes support to producers, from machinery to equipment and loans for greenhouse and livestock breeding investments, as well as vocational training and free seeds.
The project will be launched in 2023 in 14 provinces, including the capital Ankara, Istanbul, Türkiye’s third largest province Izmir and the eastern province of Erzincan, as well as Bal?kesir, Bursa, Bilecik, Çanakkale, Edirne, K?rklareli, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Tekirda? and Yalova. It is expected to expand to other cities in the near future.
One of its primary goals is easier access to fresh and cheaper food for urban dwellers at a time of risk of a global food crisis. Food prices wildly vary in the country, with middlemen blamed for influencing and inflating the prices, leading to huge differences between the price of food immediately after its harvest and supermarket prices. In addition, urban agriculture will decrease logistics costs and carbon footprint and create new jobs.
Apart from pilot provinces where the project will first be implemented, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which spearheads the program, aims to drive the growth of specialized agricultural zones in every province, similar to Organized Industrial Zones, where similar, related businesses congregate. The agricultural zones primarily host geothermal-powered greenhouses. Geothermal greenhouses were first launched in western Türkiye’s Denizli and the eastern province of A?r?. In 2018, an agricultural zone was opened for investors in Denizli.
