News in brief: The Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will train 43,000 farmers in smart agriculture practices through the Turkey Smart Climate and Competitive Agricultural Growth Project (TUCSAP), funded by the World Bank with over $341 million. The project aims to ensure sustainable use of natural resources, promote water conservation, increase resource efficiency, and address food security challenges caused by climate change, population growth, conflicts, and pandemics.
Turkey ministry of agriculture and forestry has announced plans to train 43,000 farmers in smart agriculture practices, according to a Daily Sabah report.
It is aimed at ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources and encouraging water conservation in farming. The project, Turkey Smart Climate and Competitive Agricultural Growth Project (TUCSAP), will cost the government more than $341 million.
International financer, World Bank, made the funds available back in March 2022 and it has an expected closing date of March 2028. Although, the initial budget cost proposed was $374.27 and it appears that the country will source the remaining $33 million from non-bank sources.
The Turkey agric ministry said that the project will help it to ensure food security and food access, which has been impacted by climate change, population explosion, conflicts and pandemics.
Another news report further said that the training will reduce the strain on natural resources used in agriculture, while encouraging the smart technology use. It is aimed at increasing resource efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and support agriculture sustainability.
In addition, the ministry plans to create a digital platform to gather agricultural data under one roof and a soil database for soil archive data building, which will track soil condition in Turkey.
Smart agriculture is especially important for Turkish farmers because the country has historically suffered from water scarcity and forecasts say that the situation will get worse.
