FoodTurkey-September-October-2018

Standards Institute [TSE]. Today, more
than 400 companies have halal food
certificates provided by the TSE. Companies
operating in Iraq, the Gulf States
and the rest of the Middle East are applying
for halal certificates,” they added
Commenting on the increasing importance
of the concepts of food security
and food safety all around the world,
they stated that it is a natural and very
important step to include food security
among the agenda items.
“There is an urgent need for decisive
action to free humankind from hunger
and poverty. Food security, nutrition
and sustainable agriculture must remain
a priority issue on the political agenda,
to be addressed with a cross-cutting
and inclusive approach, involving all
relevant stakeholders at the global, regional
and national levels. Effective food
security actions must be coupled with
adaptation and mitigation measures in
relation to climate change, sustainable
management of water, land, soil and
other natural resources, including the
protection of biodiversity,” added the
FAO representative.
They noted that Turkey is a food-secure
country, considering the data on
per capita food supply in Turkey (3,700
kcal/per capita/per day) and the absence
of records of food aid shipments
to Turkey.
A recent Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD) report shows that Turkey is
a world leader in a number of crops,
with high product diversity and strong
exports that contribute to food security
at the global level. According to the
OECD report, Turkey is the world’s
sixth largest agricultural producer and
a top producer and exporter of crops
ranging from hazelnuts and chestnuts
to apricots, cherries, figs, olives, tobacco
and tea.
As known, the FAO and the Turkish
government, through the Ministry of
Agriculture, concluded a host country
agreement (HCA) in mid-2006 that
also set up a partnership framework
agreement (PFA). Turkey contributed
$10 million over an initial period of
five years from 2007 to 2011 to benefit
the countries assisted by the FAO
Sub¬-Regional Office for Central Asia
(Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)
through the FAO¬/Turkey
Partnership Program (FTPP).
Regarding Turkey’s efforts in the region,
the FAO officials said that though it is
situated in a disaster-prone region, Turkey
has a strong tradition of responding
to those in need, not only in times
of natural disaster, but also on a periodic
basis. Turkey’s policy has been that
comprehensive development can only
be achieved through a sustainable and
collective strategy.
“With this understanding, Turkey, indiscriminate
of race, religion, language
and gender, strives to rapidly channel
humanitarian assistance to those countries
in dire straits and supports international
efforts to this end. Especially in
recent years, humanitarian assistance
from Turkey has been diversified and
significantly increased. Its participation
in various humanitarian assistance operations
has steered certain international
organizations to name Turkey
as an ‘emerging donor country’,” they
added.
The primary objective of the FTPP is to
provide a substantive financial and operational
framework for active cooperation
in the areas of food security and
rural poverty reduction in beneficiary
countries.
96 FOOD TURKEY September/October 2018