Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and pasture demonstration works were evaluated at the workshops held in Konya as part of the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Friendly Agriculture Project. The project is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It is very important to promote no-tillage seeding and FFSs in order to enhance sustainable land management and climate friendly agricultural activities. One of the activities conducted to this end is the improvement work carried out in a pasture area of 40 hectares in Böğrüdelik village of Cihanbeyli district in Konya. For the implementation, the pasture vegetation and flora of the area were identified and reported first. After that, the plant seeds that are suitable to the pasture were identified, seeds and fertilizer were procured, and seeding was conducted in the designated area using no-till method. Besides, trainings on planned grazing principles were given to producers, as part of the FFS programme, to protect the pasture during the sensitive improvement process. 

The protective agricultural activities conducted in Konya Closed Basin in summer 2019 as well as the no-tillage seeding methods were introduced and evaluated with the FFS approach

FFSs and pasture improvement activities constituted a very important part of the project. Within this scope, summer crops such as sunflower, corn, common vetch, and common bean were planted in 7 districts of Konya and Karaman provinces. No-tillage seeding and conventional seeding were conducted comparatively in demonstration sites. The activity was carried out by partnership of FAO and Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute.

The aim here was to introduce and promote no-tillage seeding methods and build the producers' capacity in this respect. Following the harvest of winter products, no-tillage seeding and conventional seeding were conducted comparatively. 6 FFS sessions were held during different stages of the products in each location.

Producers and facilitators shared their experiences during the activity. The findings of the group work, problems, and shortcomings were discussed and recommendations were produced.

The following conclusions were reached as a result of discussions of the subjects emphasized in the evaluations:

- It is economically possible to plant products for silage such as corn, vetch, sunflower, and bean for the second planting following winter products.

- There is no significant difference between conventional seeding and no-tillage seeding in terms of yield in general. However, there is a significant difference in terms of resource saving because of the lack of tillage cost in no-tillage seeding.

- No-till summer planting takes place a few weeks earlier than the conventional one. Therefore, no-tillage farming makes possible the planting of a second product and provides adequate time for it to grow.

- FFSs gave the farmers an opportunity to share their observations, analyses, and knowledge with demonstration.

- The activity also helped establish a more productive connection and interaction between the research, publication, and farmer.

Experiences were evaluated in the workshops

The workshop was held on 30 October with the attendance of 77 participants consisting of producers and experts from various organizations. Results of the activities conducted in summer 2019 as well as the experiences were discussed in the workshop.

Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute Director Fatih Özdemir opened the event. He stated that they are very pleased to be a part of the project. He said that the ''Learning by Practicing Together'' approach was used successfully in the project. This approach is part of the FFS concept, which has been implemented by FAO in various places in the world for 30 years. He emphasized that the approach is extremely helpful to farmers. He stated that the activities conducted in 7 districts of Konya and Karaman provinces near successful completion.

Making opening remarks at the workshop, the Provincial Director of Agriculture Ali Ergin gave a summary of the pasture improvement activities conducted by the Provincial Directorate. He also emphasized the importance of FFS.

FAO Agriculture Officer Fazıl Düşünceli provided brief information about the scope of the project. He underlined the importance of pasture improvement as well as FFS sessions being held in the field. He indicated that he is impressed with the cooperation among the organizations in the field and the way producers embraced the activities.

Situation of pastures and rehabilitation works

Prof. Mevlut Mülayim gave a presentation on the situation and problems of pastures in Turkey. He emphasized the importance of pastures as one of our most important natural resources in terms of stockbreeding. He pointed out the depletion of natural resources. He stated that in order to improve the situation, supports granted for forage crops should continue and focus on some special regions. He added that crop rotation systems should include forage crops, seed production should be encouraged, and uncontrolled grazing should be prevented.

Problems such as the decline in meadow/pasture areas and their quality in central Anatolia region were discussed. The conclusion was that the current quantity of pasture is enough at the moment, however, the declining trend poses a risk for the future of stockbreeding. In addition, it was emphasized that most of the pasture areas are either middle or low class, and that the amount and quality of their grass are low.

The reasons for pasture degradation were listed as follows: overgrazing; turning pasture areas into farms and industrial sites; unauthorized settlement; disposal of waste such as household waste, debris, contaminated water, and sewage; using pasture areas as mining fields and solar power plants; and water and wind erosion. Within this framework, the following recommendations were produced for pasture improvement:

-          Meadow/pasture management should be organized within a general directorate with a budget and human resources

-          Establishing units to protect pastures such as the Forest Protection Department

-          Establishing pasture management associations as for other products

-          Taking measures to rehabilitate degraded pasture areas

-          Promoting controlled grazing systems

-          Preventing the occupation and misuse of pastures

-          Enclosing pastures with natural or artificial borders and shades to protect them

-          Promoting model projects

-          Increasing the amount of forage crop cultivation areas

-          Ensuring that grazing takes place in the season, and giving stockbreeders coarse fodder support 

-          Giving stockbreeders artificial pasture support

-          Conducting works to prevent erosion, building barriers and suluk

Women farmers visited the organic farm where 40 different crops are grown.

A study trip to the Temmuz Organic farm, where 40 different crops are grown using organic methods, was organized for women farmers as part of the workshop. The owners of the farm, Merve and Muammer Şen, stated that they continuously strengthen sustainability to gradually increase the biodiversity in their farm. They emphasized that they minimized the damage caused by climate conditions.

Participating farmers gained technical information about the special crops and practices used at the far. They also shared their knowledge and experiences on the production of medicinal and aromatic plants. They stated that the production approaches they learned at the farm will be a helpful model for themselves.