The World Bank said Wednesday it had approved a loan of $341.27 million (TL 5 billion) as part of a project to support a more sustainable and competitive agricultural sector in Turkey and encourage using "climate-smart technologies."
The Turkey Climate Smart and Competitive Agricultural Growth Project (TUCSAP) seeks to help improve the collection and use of information on soil and land covering nearly 14 million hectares, enhance animal disease surveillance and diagnostic capabilities, and boost technology adoption to improve resource efficiency and reduce harmful carbon emissions, the World Bank said.
The project will directly benefit over 80,000 farmers, service providers and veterinarians. It will also have broader impacts through availability of relevant sectoral data reaching a wider set of stakeholders, as well as via improvements in animal health services, benefiting farmers and businesses across Turkey.
More broadly, the World Bank said the TUCSAP project will contribute to long-term sustainable growth of the agricultural sector, provide job opportunities for youth, contribute to preventing out-migration and, ultimately, improve prosperity in rural areas.
Agricultural output in Turkey has increased significantly in recent years, with exports of agri-food products rising to about $20.7 billion in 2020, representing about 10% of national exports.
The sector accounts for 6.6% of Turkey’s economy and employs about 18% of the labor force. However, it faces important productivity challenges as growth in agricultural output has been driven primarily by input intensification and far less by improvements in resource-use efficiency and technological adoption.
Agricultural expansion in Turkey is creating significant environmental and climate pressure due to the inefficient use of land, water and energy, while accounting for more than 13% of Turkey’s greenhouse gas emissions, it said. On the other hand, the sector is impacted by climate events such as droughts, floods and wildfires.
The bank said the project would contribute to addressing gender gaps by encouraging the participation of women in training and agricultural advisory support services, improving access to funding opportunities; and generating data for facilitating gender-related analysis and policymaking.
"Additionally, project activities should contribute to enhancing working conditions for women in the agriculture sector," it noted.
"We hope this partnership will contribute to putting the agriculture sector on a more competitive and sustainable growth path and help Turkey achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2053," said Auguste Kouame, World Bank Country Director for Turkey.
Turkey ratified the Paris climate agreement late last year, and has said it aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2053.
The bank said spurring Turkey’s agri-food sustainable transformation could preserve and enhance trade opportunities, while enhancing the sector’s competitiveness, especially with the country’s biggest agri‐food trade partner, the European Union, promoting climate action through the EU Green Deal.
"Bringing digital technological solutions to the agriculture sector and generating relevant information on crop production, soils and land to support its sustainable management can enhance productivity and contribute to reducing the negative impacts of climate change on ecosystems and rural incomes and employment," said Luz Diaz Rios, World Bank Task Team Leader for the Project.
"This project will support the agriculture sector’s transition to a more sustainable, competitive and climate-smart orientation."