Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Vahit Kirişci, in his speech at the “Sugar Support to Beekeepers” program held in Kahramanmaraş Agricultural Research Center, stated that the provinces declared as disaster areas are agricultural production centers of Turkey with strategic importance.
Pointing out that they care about the wounds of the rural people in terms of food supply security, Kirişci said that, from the first moment of the earthquake, especially himself, 4 deputy ministers, 15 general managers, 46 provincial directors and more than 15 thousand employees and nearly 5 thousand tools-machines. He said that they are working to heal the wounds of the citizens.
Sharing the data about the damage assessment studies carried out to heal the wounds in the countryside, Kirişci said:
“As of today, the destroyed barn and barn are 16 thousand 975 in 11 provinces and 2 thousand 985 in Kahramanmaraş. 2 thousand 228 of the 8 thousand 101 cattle that perished are in Kahramanmaraş. 21 out of 70 thousand 806 animals in terms of ovines. One thousand 450 of them are in Kahramanmaraş. We do not have a great loss in terms of poultry, but 3 thousand 223 of our 13 thousand 691 bee hives were detected in Kahramanmaraş at the point of damaged bee hives. The disaster area constitutes 17 percent of our livestock. Therefore, we are aware that we have an important responsibility on behalf of 11 provinces. We will soon start animal distribution in order to compensate for all the losses suffered by our producers in animal production.”
Underlining that the needs of the earthquake victims for animal production were met and they will continue to be met, Kirişci said that in this context, 16 thousand tons of feed and 16 thousand 539 animal tents were distributed and 130 thousand tons of milk was collected.
He continued:
“Starting from 2022, we have brought forward that some of the supports will be made in kind, but due to the nature of the earthquake in 11 provinces, we turned it into cash for our 11 provinces so that you, our producers, would not be in a rush due to the earthquake. Thus, all the support they will receive for 1 year will come forward. “We paid in cash by withdrawing funds. We provided a total of 8.2 billion liras in support in 11 provinces. Our support throughout Turkey reached 57.6 billion liras.”
“We made the decision to distribute candy with 100 percent grant”
Reminding that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry supports beekeeping and honey production, Kirişci emphasized that a thousand and one kinds of plants in the disaster area, which is located in the center of a geography where 4 climates are experienced at the same time, make beekeeping important.
Pointing out that the sustainability of beekeeping activities in the regional economy is indispensable for them, Kirişci said:
“Sugar is an important food source in order to provide the food needed by the bees in the severe winter conditions due to the limited logistics opportunities due to the earthquake disaster. Based on this, we listened to the demands of our breeders and did not remain silent. We adjusted the budget and decided to distribute sugar with a 100 percent grant. We started the distribution of 5 thousand tons of feeding sugar for 1 million 340 thousand beehives of our 10 thousand 328 beekeepers in 12 provinces as of April 28. In this context, we quickly distributed 424 tons of sugar, worth 7.2 million liras, for approximately 105 thousand hives owned by our 1180 beekeepers in Kahramanmaraş. We’re going to do it somehow.”
Reminding that the Republic of Turkey will say “hello” to a new century on October 29, Kirişci said, “As important as the defense industry is in this century, agriculture is also important. Because we care about the food needs of our brothers in the defense industry and, accordingly, the production activities related to agriculture, and it is of vital importance. “The main axis of the Turkish Century will be the agriculture and food sector.” he said.
After his speech, Kirişci distributed sugar to 436 farmers engaged in beekeeping in Dulkardiroğlu and Okikisubat districts. Producers also presented Kirişci with honeycomb.
