The meeting on the structuring activities of the Common Agricultural Policy Network (NRN), which will cover 81 provinces, was held on September 21, 2023 under the coordination and management of Mr. Cengiz KARABULUT, Deputy Governor of Istanbul. The stakeholders and the representatives of all institutions and organizations related to the agricultural policies of the provinces and regions gathered at the meetings that lasted for 4 days, and the functioning, goals and objectives of the CAP NETWORK were discussed.
In the scope of the meetings in Istanbul, IPARD Managing Authority National Rural Network-LEADER Coordinator Dr. Şenay SEVENGÖR and Project Expert Mahmut BİÇER visited Mr. Ahmet Yavuz KARACA, Istanbul Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, and Mr. Cengiz KARABULUT, Deputy Governor of Istanbul, and held information meetings.
SEVENGÖR and BİÇER discussed the current agricultural profile together with the Head of the Business Development Unit of Istanbul Development Agency, Mr. Fatih PİŞKİN, and the Development Agency NRN contact persons, and exchanged information with the Provincial Director of Civil Society Relations, Mr. Bayram Ali ÇAKIROĞLU.
Furthermore, during the the Common Agricultural Policy Network focus group meeting, the CAP Network (NRN) contact persons assigned by the relevant institutions came together. The structure's division of labour was made with the relevant institutions and organizations.
The representatives of the Governorship, the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, the Provincial Directorate of Civil Society Relations, the Development Agency, the Organic Food Producers Association, the Provincial Directorate of National Education attended the core group meeting, where the CAP Network system was introduced.
Finally, the Common Agricultural Policy Network stakeholder meeting was held at the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. The meeting, which brought together stakeholders related to agriculture and rural development in Istanbul, including all actors of the region in the field of agriculture, such as farmers, academics, cooperative and union representatives, private sector representatives, people with good practice projects, discussed the prominent themes in Istanbul, problems of the region, and what needs to be carried out in a participatory manner.
Within the scope of the programme, exemplary projects were also reviewed. As an exemplary project, the Vertical Farming Application Centre, which was put into operation through public-private cooperation, was visited and information was received about the Horizon Europe project “Decontamination of Valuable Volatile Substances in Alcoholic Fermentation Processes and Food Systems”.
COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP) NETWORK
The national rural network aims to ensure effective implementation of rural development policies and offer new approaches for rural development. It also aims to ensure the participation of all stakeholders and protect the integrity of local cultural values while implementing rural development policies. A story of change is being written in the rural areas.