Beekeeping equipment distributed to rural women in Ikizce District, Ordu through “Leaving No One Behind” project
12 July 2024, Ikizce, Ordu, Türkiye – Earlier this month, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye (MoAF), organized a beehive and beekeeping equipment distribution event as part of the joint project “Leaving No One Behind: Greater Involvement and Empowerment of Rural Women in Türkiye and Central Asia”.
Held on 2–3 July 2024, the aim of the event was to encourage the socio-economic participation of rural women in the honey sector. Since the project’s inception in 2022, have the team have conducted field studies, training and value chain analyses leading to the decision to support rural women in beekeeping in Ikizce District.
During the event, 14 women received 10 beehives each along with essential beekeeping equipment. Each of the beneficiaries had been identified as in need by the newly established Gender Unit of the Ordu Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. The event was attended by FAO experts, representatives from the MoAF, national experts, the beneficiaries and local stakeholders from Ordu Province.
In his opening remarks, Ersin Soydan, Deputy Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, emphasized the importance of the apiculture sector for Ordu and highlighted the need for women in rural areas to benefit from the sector’s diversity. Müslüm Kayhan Inan, Head of the Training and Extension Department at MoAF, explained that the project had expanded significantly across three provinces and continues to support rural women in beekeeping in Ikizce District.
FAO International Livestock Specialist Yuriy Nesterov underlined the need for continued information sharing and collaboration to support rural women in beekeeping beyond the delivery of equipment. Following the presentation ceremony, Nesterov conducted a training session on beekeeping for the rural women beekeepers, which included on-site inspections of some of the delivered beehives.
On the following day, project manager Senem Elçin Berber moderated a stakeholder meeting on the theme of “Empowering Women’s Socio-Economic Participation in the Beekeeping Sector”, with a view to sharing and strengthening knowledge. The meeting assembled representatives from FAO, the Ikizce District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, the Apiculture Research Institute, the Balmer-Black Sea Bee Products Centre and the Ordu Province Beekeeping Association. The discussions focused on increasing the capacities of rural women in the apiculture sector and the potential for establishing cooperatives to ensure their active participation. It was explained that the Gender Unit will organize training ensure the sustainability of the equipment provided to the beneficiaries.
Following the meeting, a visit was undertaken to the Apiculture Research Institute. This led to a dynamic exchange of information on collaborative beekeeping projects for rural women.
About the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes
The objectives of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes are to provide support to ensure food security, rural poverty reduction and sustainable forest management; combat desertification; and preserve ecosystems in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and other countries of mutual interest.
Established in 2007, the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture (FTPP) has benefited from trust fund contributions totalling USD 10 million, financed by the Government of Türkiye and represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. During the first phase of the programme, 28 projects were implemented in 16 countries between 2009 and 2015.
In 2014, Türkiye and FAO commenced the second phase of the FTPP along with the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme (FTFP) with additional funding of USD 20 million, bringing Türkiye’s total contribution to USD 30 million.
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· Beehive and beekeeping equipment distribution ceremony in Türkiye
· “After the FAO training, I see that there is a common awareness.”
· Rural women and family farming