In cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Bahçeşehir University (BAU), a workshop was held with the theme of "Local Products, Gastronomy, and Cooperatives" in Şeyhli Neighborhood of Giresun's Piraziz district. AK Party Giresun Deputies Kadir Aydın and Cemal Öztürk, Giresun Governor Enver Ünlü, Ordu Governor Tuncay Sonel, Giresun Mayor Aytekin Şenlikoğlu, UN Advisory Board Member Enver Yücel, FAO Central Asia Sub-Regional Coordinator and Turkey Representative Viorel Gutu, United Nations Turkey Resident Coordinator Alvaro Rodriguez, members of the protocol, women's cooperatives and many guests attended the event.
The event aims to have the inclusion of local agricultural products in the development of the country with maximum benefit, their contribution to sustainable development, the delivery of innovation in agriculture to family businesses, women and youth’s knowledge about cooperatives, smart agriculture practices, digital agriculture, and technologies about sustainable food systems to be active in the processes.
“We aim to reveal the endemic plants of the Black Sea”
Commenting on the workshop, UN Advisory Board Member Enver Yücel said that they started a study to reveal the endemic plants of the Black Sea.
Stating that they want to bring the products grown in the region to the international arena, Yücel said, “We are establishing a field in Piraziz together with Bahçeşehir University and the United Nations Agricultural Organization. This area is a center for implementing smart agriculture that can shape the agriculture of the future. We want to reveal the endemic plants of the Black Sea region, open the gastronomy of this region to the international arena, and have them taste the local food. I think we will achieve our goal if we can give our people a study and training on this. I hope that these studies will play an important role, especially in women's employment. We will provide training here. We will have fields of application and we will make examples to the participants about how their hand-made products reach international markets. We aim to show how the valuable plants grown in these lands can be used in agriculture and medicine in the field of application of our university.”
After expressing that the facility established is open to everyone Bahcesehir University Rector Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz said that “The work of the center we have established here will be to conduct research studies in the field of sustainable food systems and agriculture, as well as to design training programs for all target groups. Because for a sustainable world, we need to consider agriculture, women, and technology together. It will carry out training and awareness studies for young people and entrepreneurs to exist in this sector. This center will be open to all relevant scientists in this field, all of our young people who want to improve themselves in the same field, to all our women and people who are already in the field of agriculture who want to venture or want to expand their company. I think that when we bring together our local fields of application areas and the experience of the United Nations, we will create very serious awareness studies with this center that we have established for the first time in the world and I hope we will create world brands that will emerge from our country.”
“We should support local manufacturers”
FAO Deputy Representative for Turkey Dr. Ayşegül Selışık pointed out that they are the organization responsible for ensuring food safety in the world and said, “Here, we need to support local manufacturers and small family businesses all the way. Giresun is one of the best examples of this. There are large hazelnut orchards, tea gardens, but after all, there are also local products that small farmers have access to the market. Different information will be shared and different presentations will be made to support them to enter the market in the right way.”
Vegetables and fruits as well as handiwork produced by the manufacturers within the scope of the workshop were offered for sale at the stands set up in the area. The two-day workshop will end tomorrow.
TR
