Photo: ©FAO / Şafak Toros

Kars – Kars is the province that produces the most geese in Turkey, accounting for one-third of total goose production. Although goose meat consumption has recently increased in popularity, especially in terms of rural tourism and gastronomy, goose breeding has long been an important source of livelihoods for producers, especially for the women living in Kars.

Goose breeders have only limited knowledge of production, ways to combat poultry diseases, biosecurity measures to prevent the transmission of animal diseases and the relevant legal rules currently in force. They also experience difficulties in finding a modern slaughterhouse within the region. Since the goose breeding sector is not as developed as the poultry sector in terms of production and marketing, no concrete analysis has been made of value chains and no marketing strategy for stakeholders has yet been produced.

For this reason, a technical cooperation project was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to increase the capacities of technical personnel within the Ministry, farmers and private sector representatives, and to improve awareness of stakeholders in this sector, with a view to developing a sustainable production model for goose breeding as well as an end product with high added value for rural tourism and gastronomy.

An opening workshop was held in Kars on Saturday, 4 February, with the high-level participation of FAO authorities, national and international technical experts, representatives of ministries and local stakeholders as part of the “Strengthening Goose Meat Production through Rural Tourism and Gastronomy” project.

Photo: ©FAO/Şafak Toros

The meeting was opened by İbrahim Altıntaş, Director of the Kars Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, who in his speech, emphasized that goose meat is an important source of livelihood and employment for small family farmers and food businesses who trade in this product, particularly in terms of tourism and gastronomy.

He explained: “The training delivered under this project with the cooperation of the Ministry and other institutions, public personnel, farmers and producer organizations, civil society, private sector and academia, will ensure that small-scale family operators in our city can access a sustainable production model, and will help increase the added value of animal husbandry.”

The meeting continued with a speech by Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Türkiye, who emphasized that goose meat production is an important source of income for Kars women, and explained that FAO-Türkiye has worked consistently to increase the job opportunities of women in rural areas. She continued: “The steps we will take together within the scope of this project will enable us to identify ongoing difficulties in goose breeding and develop strategies to take the necessary actions. At the same time, the project will support growers both inside and outside the province to develop sustainable business contacts through rural tourism and gastronomy. In addition, we will improve the knowledge and capacity of breeding and marketing techniques, including hygiene rules, among goose flocks owners. In so doing, we will overcome persistent bottlenecks in goose breeding, one of the most competitive branches of Kars animal husbandry, and contribute to the improvement of rural welfare, especially for women.”

The last speech was given by Fuat Kasımcan, Director-General of the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye, who emphasized the importance of projects carried out in the field of food and investment in partnership with FAO. As he explained, the partnership project with FAO aims to contribute to the provision of food security, poverty reduction and sustainability of natural resources. The road map produced by the project will help eliminate value chain and sectoral problems and provide future projections of local goose culture and breeding. He also emphasized that this technical cooperation project will be a very important factor in obtaining geographical indication status for the goose meat of Kars.

The opening workshop ended with detailed presentations about the project given by FAO Turkey National Programme and Operations Specialist Rıdvan Kurtipek, Project Technical Specialist Eran Raizman and national project consultants.