Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, in his speech at the Water, Agriculture and Food Security session within the scope of COP31, said that climate change puts increasing pressure on water resources, agricultural production and food security, and that it is a common responsibility for everyone to take all kinds of activities to secure agricultural production, from drought to extreme weather events and changing climate conditions.
In this context, Yumaklı stated that water, agriculture and food security should be evaluated not as separate areas, but as complementary elements of the same system, and continued as follows:
"As Turkey, we adopt an approach that centers on water, adapts to climate change and considers the efficient use of resources in our efforts to strengthen sustainable agriculture and food supply security. In this process, we also attach great importance to scientific and reliable information and climate services. Meteorological observations, climate forecasts and early warning systems are of great importance in making agricultural decisions more soundly and reducing climate-related risks."
Yumaklı emphasized that they see strengthening cooperation between meteorology and agricultural institutions as one of the basic elements of the capacity to adapt to climate change and said, "Developments in science and technology offer us important opportunities to better predict climate changes and use our resources more effectively. However, of course, our main goal is to deliver this information and technologies to the field and especially to strengthen the resilience of our farmers against changing climate conditions." he said.
"IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT AND ACCESSIBLE FINANCE FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE"
Expressing that their vision is to bring together scientific capacity, public policies and needs in the field more strongly, Yumaklı said, "On the other hand, it is also critical to provide adequate and accessible financing for adaptation to climate change. Investments that will increase the resilience of developing countries and small-scale producers, in particular, need to be supported by international financing mechanisms. In line with the Dialogue, Consensus and Action understanding of our COP31 Presidency, we aim to achieve concrete and comprehensive results in the fight against climate change." he said.
Yumaklı explained that common challenges in the fields of water, agriculture and food security make strong international cooperation more important than ever, and stated that Turkey is ready to share knowledge and experience, strengthen partnerships and contribute to common solutions for more resilient, sustainable and safe food systems.
Pointing out that the future of food security depends on building sustainable and resilient agricultural systems against climate change, Yumaklı thanked the General Directorate of Meteorology of Turkey, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations organizations and all stakeholders who contributed to the organization of the event.
EXTREME HEAT DECREASED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY BY ONE FIFTH
Celeste Saulo, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), stated that extreme heat has reduced agricultural productivity worldwide by one fifth since 1961, and that this means the loss of approximately 7 years of progress.
Stating that drought, as well as extreme heat, also negatively affects agricultural production, Saulo said that if heat and drought occur at the same time, product losses almost triple.
Drawing attention to the importance of climate forecasts in increasing farmers' resilience to climate change, Saulo continued as follows:
"Today, I call on governments, climate funds and development partners: Let's make climate information part of this revolution. Let's include it in every adaptation plan, every project and every budget. Let's also place strong national meteorological services at the center of this process to ensure that critical information reaches the farmers and communities who need it most. Heat, water scarcity and extreme rainfall have already taken away 7 years of progress made by the world's farmers. Today's revolution can make up for this loss. So let's preserve it."
