Southern Türkiye in dire need of agriculture support after devastating quakes

STORY: Southern Türkiye in dire need of agriculture support after devastating quakes DATELINE: Feb. 22, 2023 LENGTH: 0:02:38 LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of buildings destroyed by the earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye 2. various of Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci 3. various of wheat fields 4. various of fruits STORYLINE: The major twin earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6 have raised serious concerns about the country's agricultural capacity as the 10 hardest-hit provinces are home to about 3.58 million hectares of agricultural land, or 15 percent of the nation's total. The provinces are responsible for 15.5 percent of all planted grains and crops, 15.2 percent of vegetables and 25.2 percent of fruit and spices in Türkiye, with nearly a fifth of the 34.2-billion-U.S. dollar agricultural exports last year coming from the region, according to a report by the financial daily Dunya. In fact, agricultural drought had already been causing con

Turkey battles wildfires for 3rd day near holiday resort

STORY: Turkey battles wildfires for 3rd day near holiday resort DATELINE: June 24, 2022 LENGTH: 00:00:57 LOCATION: Ankara CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the wildfires at Mugla province of Turkey (courtesy of Ihlas News Agency) STORYLINE: Turkey is continuing for the third-day battle against wildfires near the resort of Marmaris on the Aegean coast on Thursday, with hundreds of people ordered to evacuate. At least 247 people have been evacuated from areas threatened by wind-driven wildfires, Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci said at a joint press conference with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. Kirisci said 3,000 hectares of land were affected by the blazes and 12 planes, 45 water-dropping helicopters and 2,600 personnel were involved in the firefighting. "I can say that now we are in a much better situation. This morning, air humidity has reached the level of 91 percent," Kirisci said. Wildfires erupted in several places on Tuesday evening in the Bordubet region near

Wildfire breaks out in Turkey's Mediterranean province

STORY: Wildfire breaks out in Turkey's Mediterranean province DATELINE: June 22, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:10 LOCATION: Ankara CATEGORY: OTHERS SHOTLIST: various of forest firesvarious of fire teams working STORYLINE: Forest fires erupted Tuesday in Turkey's southwestern province of Mugla, a Mediterranean resort province that was ravaged by weeks-long wildfires last year. The fire started at 8:02 p.m. local time (0502 GMT) near the resort town of Marmaris, Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci tweeted. The semi-official Anadolu Agency reported that the fire broke out in the forest area of Hisaronu neighborhood named Bordubet for an unknown reason and the flames spread in a short time with the effect of the wind. Fire teams are making intense efforts to control the fire which is growing rapidly, according to the report. Turkey was hit by one of the worst wildfires in the summer of 2021, which swept 53 provinces and killed at least eight people and numerous animals. Xinhua News Agenc

Turkey seeks to rent foreign farmland to boost food supply: media

STORY: Turkey seeks to rent foreign farmland to boost food supply: media DATELINE: June 16, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:10 LOCATION: Istanbul CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1 various of the harvest 2 various of views in Istanbul 3 various of the market STORYLINE: Turkey is in talks with more than 10 countries to rent foreign farmland to grow food to meet domestic needs, local newspaper Hurriyet reported on Wednesday. The report said Turkish authorities have been meeting with officials from Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, and some other African and Latin American countries in consultation. Vahit Kirisci, minister of Agriculture and Forestry, said even though Turkey is self-sufficient in domestic consumption, the rented foreign farmland would provide Turkey with the capacity to export food. The focus will be on products such as sunflower, corn, cotton, sesame, sugarcane and alfalfa, which have a production shortfall in Turkey. Tropical fruit and vegetables such as pineapple, mango, avocado and canola are planned to