The Olive Workshop component of the 21st Olive Festival of Girne Municipality, started today as part of the ‘From Green City to Green Island Project’ signed between Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality and Girne Municipality to improve olive cultivation. Girne Governor Sinan Güneş, Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Agricultural Service Branch Manager Yusuf Yılmaz, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Agricultural Service Branch agricultural engineer Esra Özzengin, citizens and olive growers participated in the workshop.
Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü, who spoke at the opening of the workshop, emphasized that the cooperation between municipalities has moved to an important point with the protocol signed between the Union of Turkish Municipalities and the Union of Cyprus Turkish Municipalities, and that with the “From Green City to Green Island Project” signed with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, he was sure very important progress will be made in olive growing in the country.
Güngördü noted that their aim with the project is to increase and diversify the olive potential in the country with scientific approaches, to add more economic value to the olive tree, its fruit and its products, and to encourage its production. Reminding that after 1974, the number of olive trees, which were then 1.5 million roots in Northern Cyprus, has decreased to around 600,000 today due to construction. Güngördü emphasized that an awareness of this has developed in this regard with the Olive Festival they gave life to 21 years ago.
Expressing that with this project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources will contribute to the efforts to improve olive production and potential in the country, Güngördü said that they will work to grow olive trees suitable for the climate and conditions of the country, to obtain products in the most efficient way and to find the old virtues of olives in the country’s geography. Expressing that 50,000 olive saplings will be distributed as part of the project, olive groves will be established, women’s employment will be supported, and olive cultivation training will be organized, Güngördü expressed his gratitude to Fatma Şahin, the President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, and stated that Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality will support the project with mechanization in agriculture.
After the opening speech, the workshop presentation was started. In today’s presentation, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Institute Agricultural Engineer Hüseyin Karanfiloğlu made a presentation on the General Situation of Olives in TRNC. Hüseyin Karanfiloğlu, Agricultural Engineer at the Institute of Agricultural Research, stated that they are working for the development of agricultural production in the country, the economic value of agricultural products and the promotion of production, and stated that he believes that the project implemented in cooperation with the Girne and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipalities to develop olive cultivation will contribute to this.
Stating that the Agricultural Research Institute has been doing serious work on the olive, an important product of the country, recently, Karanfiloğlu noted that by making the olive product more valuable, they aim to ensure that the people of the country benefit more from this product.
Karanfiloğlu stated that there has been a serious decline in the olive population in the country and that 1.5 million olives have fallen to 600,000 and that there has been a increasing awareness of the value of olive trees, olives and their by-products in recent years. Expressing that there are 11 thousand olive producers in the country, this is a very pleasing figure, and that olives are generally grown in areas of 5 decares, Karanfiloğlu reminded that the highest yield in the country so far was recorded as 19,000 tons in 2019. Karanfiloğlu stated that wild olives grow in the mountains as well as 600 thousand registered olive trees in the country, adding that local production is not enough to meet the demand.
Karanfiloğlu stated that they are working with a local olive type unique to the island and that the biggest feature of this type is that it can be consumed both as oil and as table green and black olives. Karanfiloğlu also gave information about the works they have done to develop the local olive, make it suitable for world standards, increase its capacity and register it as a local product specific to the island.
During the workshop, various presentations on pruning, fertilization, feeding, harvesting, plant protection measures will be held under the title of Olive cultivation.
Source (Turkish): Girne Municipality
