Bridges built between Türkiye and Azerbaijan to fight wheat rust disease
Ankara, Türkiye –As part of the project “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and National Capacities for Monitoring and Managing Wheat Rust Diseases in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC-Rust)”, a delegation from Azerbaijan visited institutions in Ankara to observe Türkiye’s efforts to combat the spread of wheat rust disease and exchange information with experts.
During the initial part of the visit, Özcan Türkoğlu, FAO's Senior Programme Coordinator, summarised FAO's work and Fazıl Düşünceli, Project Technical Lead, gave an overview of the project's progress. The visiting delegation, which was headed by Ceyhun Ibrahimov, Head of the Plant Protection and Fumigation Centre of the Agricultural Services Agency (ASA), presented the centre’s work on wheat rust disease and the approach taken by the Centre to combat spread of the disease within the country. As part of Azerbaijan’s capacity-building efforts, Ibrahimov noted that the Centre was keen to learn from Türkiye’s experience and knowledge in managing wheat rust diseases and to discuss the approaches taken by the two countries.
The Azerbaijani delegation discussed key issues relating to wheat rust disease prevention and control with the technical team of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies led by Director-General Mustafa Altuğ Atalay, as well as with the experts of the General Directorate of Food and Control led by Deputy Director-General Yunus Bayram. They also had an opportunity to see the systems and the tools of the Ministry used in monitoring and management of the disease as well as obtaining first-hand information about the specific approaches taken and the methods applied deepening their knowledge in wheat rust diseases management.
In the final part of the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation toured the Ikizce research farm of the Central Research Institute for Field Crops, where they observed ongoing field research and practices related to wheat rust diseases. Emine Burcu Tugay, the wheat rust expert of the institute who accompanied the delegation, answered their questions and gave the Azerbaijani guests a tour of the rust laboratories and greenhouses located on the institute’s Yenimahalle campus.
The project“Strengthening Regional Cooperation and National Capacities for Monitoring and Managing Wheat Rust Diseases in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC-Rust)” forms part of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes (FTPP).
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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