Turkey lauches a new " Africa agricultural development program"

A Turkish minister announced on Friday Turkey initiated a new development asistance program for African countries.

The aim of the program launched today is to improve relations between Turkey and Africa, provide African countries with modern agriculture and animal breeding technologies, raise qualified experts, raise incomes and living standards," Turkey´s State Minister Said Yazicioglu said during a promotion meeting of an "Africa Agricultural Development Program."

Yazicioglu also noted that last three-year´s average development aid provided by Turkey were 650 million USD.

The Turkish International Cooperation & Development Agency (TICA) has launched the program, supported by Turkey´s Agriculture & Rural Affairs Ministry.

Also speaking in the meeting, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Minister Mehmet Mehdi Eker said that the main reason of global food crisis was to use agricultural raw materials, that needed to be used as foodstuff, outside this purpose.

Eker enumerated reasons for food crisis as energy problems, global warming, change in nutrition habits, and trade policies of rich countries.

"850-860 million people are facing hunger problem in the world, according to Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) and majority of them are living in Africa," Eker said.

Consisting of three stages, the first stage of the program covers high-level officials of 13 African countries and will be implemented between July 29th and August 8th.

The second stage will be held in April 2009, last for 25 days and be related with vegetable production. Technical experts from African countries will join this stage. Also, another 25-day program on animal diseases and animal breeding will be held in May 2009.

In the third stage, TICA experts and Turkish Agriculture & Rural Affairs Ministry executives will visit African countries and see the outcome of the first and second stages of the program.

TIMETURK.com