Food safety and protection of agricultural systems come to the fore at COP31

Eker told the AA correspondent at COP31 hosted by Türkiye in Antalya that the most important criterion affecting agriculture and food is climate change.

Stating that agriculture is shaped around the elements of climate, soil and topography, Eker stated that climate change directly affects agriculture and food.

Eker stated that at least 70 percent of the world's water is used in agriculture and said, "Climate change, hurricanes, extraordinary temperature changes, floods, disasters, natural disasters... The increase in the amount of these negatively affects production. Therefore, the main subject of COP31, which is essentially the subject of climate change, is how will agriculture and food systems be protected against this? What can be done about it?" he said.

Pointing out that the increase in global warming in the last 200 years has been 1.45 degrees, Eker noted that this situation causes effects such as rainfall, food systems, desertification, drought and extreme weather conditions.

Eker continued by pointing out that agriculture, food and water are the basic needs of human physiology:

"Hunger is also the fuel of social problems and conflicts. That's why it is the most important agenda item in the world. 645 million people in the world are hungry. 2.7 billion people are undernourished and unbalanced. This is a very grave thing. There is enough food in the world. This production is carried out using natural resources. And this is wasted or lost. It is lost because there is not enough storage. Cold transportation is done because there is no cold chain. This is one of the important agenda topics at COP31." This is one of them: The words spoken in the halls, the ideas written in the reports, and the suggestions are of no value unless they are implemented in the field."

Stating that farmers, producers and growers all over the world want to have a concrete solution in their own fields, Eker stated that this requires the supply of information, technology, capital and finance.

Eker pointed out that not every country has sufficient opportunities to access financing and underlined that financial institutions, countries, decision makers, banks and credit institutions must act together at this point.

"If the climate deteriorates, food security will be most affected."

Stating that food security is linked to climate change, Eker said, "If the climate deteriorates or the necessary precautions are not taken, food security will be affected the most. Change is inevitable in nature, in the world, everywhere. Everything changes and is in flux every day, every hour, for billions of years. Change is a manifestation of vitality." he said.

On the other hand, reminding that Türkiye has approximately 12,500 years of historical experience in agriculture and animal husbandry, Eker said that while there are around 2,400 endemic plant species in the European continent, this number is around 4,200 in Anatolia.

Eker added that it is a diplomatic power for the Republic of Türkiye to have this heritage, wealth and wealth, and to process them with thousands of years of civilization and carry them to the present day.