Türkiye provided some TL 4.7 billion ($157.8 million) in grant support to rural development projects last year, a senior official said Wednesday.
Highlighting that they made last year "the year of rural investments," Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı said, "Last year, we provided TL 4.7 billion in grant support to rural development projects. Thanks to these supports, 13,481 people were employed through the projects implemented."
"We will continue to increase our grant support for rural investments," he said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Yumaklı highlighted that within the scope of the IPARD Program, TL 3 billion in grants were given to 3,375 projects, employing 7,200 people.
The visual presentation of the grants provided also indicated some 495 projects were supported with TL 648 million under the "Rural Development Programs Support Project," employing 2,084 people.
Within the framework of supporting individual irrigation systems, support amounting to TL 609 million was provided to 6,522 projects.
It was also said that TL 320 million in grants was handed to 1,292 entrepreneurs as part of the "Expert Hands Project."
In addition, according to the information provided through the post, the grant support of TL 131 million was delivered within externally funded rural development projects, leading to the employment of 2,905 individuals.
Agriculture support in 2023
In an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday, the minister also provided information on state support and damage compensation issued during 2023 within the scope of the Agriculture Insurance Pool (TARSIM) project.
"Last year, we protected the labor of our producers. In 2023, within the scope of TARSIM, 3.1 million policies were issued, and TL 9.2 billion in state premium support and 8 TL billion in damage compensation payments were made," Yumaklı said.
Yumaklı noted that the project was created to protect farmers from natural disasters and to continue their agricultural activities.
He noted that most of the TARSIM insurance last year was made in the provinces of Tekirdağ, Edirne, Konya, Kırklareli and Yozgat, respectively, and that the most insured products were wheat, barley, sunflower, hazelnuts and grapes.
Emphasizing that the increase in the number of insured people and the number of premiums in agriculture continues, Yumaklı stated that insurance coverage constantly expands and discounts are being applied.