Ankara – Experts, academics and officials of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) met in Ankara yesterday to begin preparatory work for a new project: “Increasing the sustainability and resilience of agriculture and food systems through Nature-Based Solutions”. FAO will implement the project in six provinces of Türkiye in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

In her opening speech to the Project Preparation Workshop, FAO Representative Assistant Ayşegül Selışık explained that the threat to the agriculture and food sectors from climate change is the most significant issue of our time. She stressed that to combat these challenges it is vital to develop sustainable and resilient solutions, in particular Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). She elaborated:

“Nature-Based Solutions aim to mitigate the effects of climate change, protect biodiversity, and strengthen ecosystems by leveraging the self-renewing power of ecosystems like agriculture and rangelands. Additionally, they aim to ensure food security through sustainable production methods. When applied to agricultural and food systems, NBS improves soil health, increases productivity, conserves water resources, reduces the use of chemicals in pest control, lowers farmers’ input costs, increases their income and strengthens their livelihoods.”

Selışık explained that the project will be implemented in six provinces: Bingöl, Kahramanmaraş, Kars, Nevşehir, Niğde and Tekirdağ, and will also be an important component of the GEF Food Integrated Programme, which encompasses 32 countries including Argentina, the Republic of China, India, Kazakhstan and Türkiye. It will focus on two critical production areas – wheat and livestock and rangelands.

The second opening speech was delivered by Abdülkadir Karabulut, Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Reform. He began by emphasizing the importance of food for adequate nutrition and animal products for balanced nutrition:

“In the last 50 years, the global population has doubled while agricultural production has increased more than tenfold. As we approach 2050, the population is projected to increase by 30 percent, and demand for food will rise by 60 percent. However, agricultural areas have decreased in size by 12 percent. To meet this growing food demand, an additional 500–600 million decares of agricultural land are needed. Moreover, the world must adopt more sustainable production methods and ensure the sustainable use of resources in agricultural production.”

Karabulut emphasized the important role that international institutions can play in achieving this objective, and the steps required. “It is crucial to create awareness about the issues involved and prepare a roadmap”, he explained. “We are only newly acquainted with many of these concepts both individually and societally, therefore, the sooner we familiarize ourselves with them, the more effective we can be in preventing these problems from growing.”

Karabulut also noted that project efforts should focus on agricultural production and in particular on farmers.

“The farmer is the subject of every sentence we write. If the recommendations we develop while identifying priority issues and solutions do not reach the farmer and have an impact on their awareness, our efforts will be of no value. However, I am very hopeful for this project. It brings together many institutions and carefully selected provinces, and is being will be implemented at a key moment in time.”

The workshop continued with detailed presentations made by experts and academics working in the field of agriculture and food systems. During the afternoon session, working groups dedicated to wheat and livestock and rangelands discussed the project’s main components, and explored ideas, opportunities, challenges and limitations regarding possible project activities.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The continued expansion of food production poses an increasing threat to ecosystems, while the food system faces increasing risks from climate change events, drought and extreme heatwaves. The aim of the project is to reduce environmental degradation caused by the food system, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, depletion of freshwater resources, agricultural nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by integrating nature-based solutions into the agricultural sector.

The introduction and widespread adoption of nature-based solutions, through the development of regulatory frameworks, coordination mechanisms and financial mechanisms, would aim not only to implement sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural production practices but also to catalyse the sustainable transformation of the food system by directing consumer demand, changing the priorities of value chain actors and transforming business practices. This comprehensive approach aims to eliminate the negative impacts created by existing structures. The project’s estimated budget is USD 4 804 128 and the implementation period is 48 months.