Climate Change and Food Security Panel
The 'Climate Change and Food Security Panel', in which the effects of climate change on agriculture and food safety, was held in Ankara on September 7, 2023. The event, organized via online, was moderated by Dr. Coskun Serefoglu who works at Ankara Development Agency as an expert. The panelists of the event are Fatma Güngör from the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Deputy Head of Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Foreign Relations and EU General Directorate, Dr. Burçak Yüksel and General Directorate of Agrarian Reform Dr. Korkut Gökhan Kurtar, Farmer Hüseyin İnce and Agricultural Engineer Muhsin Avcı from the Central Research Institute of Field Crops.
Emine Doğrukök, Secretary General of Ankara Development Agency, who spoke at the opening of the panel emphasized that climate change and its effects are among the main topics of the Agency and noted that studies to raise awareness on this issue will be carried out meticulously.
“Public and Private Sector Coordination Should Be Provided”
The panel consists of two parts. In the first part, the panelists shared the work carried out in the institutions they work for on climate change with the participants and emphasized the importance of coordination between the public and private sectors for food safety. Speaking on this topic, Hüseyin İnce, who is a farmer in Polatlı, touched upon the importance of communication between policy makers and farmers in combating the effects of climate change thanks to the latest technologies.
Sustainable Land Management and Climate Friendly Agriculture Project
Fatma Güngör from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization talked about climate-friendly agricultural practices and said that the income of small farmers should be increased. Güngör shared the details of the 'Sustainable Land Management and Climate-Friendly Agriculture' project, carried out in cooperation with FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and stated that the project aimed to be extended throughout Turkey. On the other hand, revealing the approach of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the subject, Dr. Burçak Yüksel noted that action plans will be put into practice to establish the resilience of sustainable food systems and to establish a stable food supply chain. He also reported that they have developed programs to activate inter-agency or integrated early warning systems by 2030. Yüksel emphasized the importance of the work of the Ankara Development Agency in this context.
Dr. Korkut Gökhan Kurtar, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, reminded that activities are being carried out to reduce the negative environmental effects of carbon footprint and stated that they are working with farmers' unions from 81 provinces to ensure the use of high-tech products in agriculture. Noting that they aim to reach small-scale family farmers, Kurtar stated that they will implement the smart agriculture platform for this purpose. Muhsin Avcı, from the Field Crops Central Research Institute, stated in his speech that species resistant to climate change stresses are being studied and offered to the farmer. In the last part of the panel, questions from the participants were answered. The desire to continue their work on climate change, food security, urban agriculture and circular economy was expressed.