The first concrete steps were taken on Saturday 8th October in the ‘From Green City to Green Island Project’ when the first saplings sent to the Municipality of Girne as part of the project were planted. Nidai Güngördü, Mayor of Girne, emphasizing that the cooperation between the municipalities has moved to an important point with the protocol signed between the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and the Union of Turkish Cypriot Municipalities. He expressed his belief that with the “From Green City to Green Island Project” signed with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, very important progress will be made in olive cultivation in the country.
Stating that the aims of the project are to increase the olive potential in the country with scientific approaches, to diversify, to give more economic value to the olive tree, fruit and products and to encourage production, Güngördü said that 600,000 Turkish Liras of the approximately 1,100,000 Turkish Lira project will be covered by the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and 500,000 Turkish Liras will be covered by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.
Reminding that after 1974, the number of olive trees in Northern Cyprus, which was then one and a half million roots, decreased considerably due to construction and reached around 600,000. Güngördü emphasized that an awareness developed on this issue with the Olive Festival they gave life to 21 years ago.
Stating that with this project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources will contribute to the work of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to develop olive production and potential in the country. Güngördü said that they will work to grow olive trees suitable for the country’s climate and conditions, to obtain products in the most efficient way and to find the old value of olives in the country’s geography.
Within the scope of the project, not only within the borders of Girne, saplings will be distributed, olive groves will be established, women’s employment will be supported, olive cultivation trainings will be organized. Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality will also provide agricultural mechanization support with equipment such as pruning and spraying machines, Güngördü thanked Fatma Şahin, President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey.
Stating that the first saplings of the project will be planted by the guest mayors, representatives of non-governmental organizations, municipal council members and administrative staff who will participate in the festival, on the 6-acre land at the entrance of Zeytinlik Village, which was donated to the municipality by the State. Güngördü reminded that the pandemic has once again highlighted the importance of local production and that the State has once again brought the importance of production within our shores. In order to encourage and reassure the local producer, he stressed that he should set a base price on local products such as olive harnup.
Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor,Latif Karadağ, reminded that Gaziantep is in the UNESCO Green Cities category and wished this project between the Green City and the Green Island to be beneficial. Stating that the pandemic has changed habits in many areas, that the return to green to nature and local production have gained importance again, Karadağ said that in recent years, municipalism habits have moved away from the understanding of infrastructure municipalism and left their place to the understanding of social municipalism that aims to serve in every field that concerns people. In this context, under the leadership of Fatma Şahin, Karadağ emphasized that they are the first municipality to establish the department of agricultural services in Turkey in 2014, and that they provide intensive agricultural support to 33,500 farmers registered in the city in different areas such as distributing saplings to training, encouraging the cultivation of local endemic seed cereals and responsible irrigation.
At the end of his speech, Karadag hoped that the cooperation protocols signed between the Union of Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Municipalities and the Metropolitan Municipalities of Kyrenia and Gaziantep would increase and be beneficial.
After the speeches, 13 mayors from Turkey, 1 from Italy, and others from different regions of Northern Cyprus, municipal council members, administrative staff, representatives of non-governmental organizations who were in Northern Cyprus to participate in the festival planted the first saplings of the project on the 6-acre area donated by the state to the Municipality of Girne at the entrance of Zeytinlik village.
Source (Turkish): Girne Municipality
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