Turkey, a rich Muslim nation ranked No. 7 among the top agricultural producers in the world, will soon sign an agreement with the Philippine Government through the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to start a Joint Exchange Program to train and expose leaders and farmers of the Bangsamoro Region to modern agriculture in that country.
This is a program which I forged with Turkey Ambassador to the Philippines Artemiz Sumer, when we met last month following the announcement made by President Rody Duterte that I was being assigned as his “Point Person” in the newly-formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (NARMM).
The Turkish Ambassador said it would be her country’s contribution to the peace efforts of President Duterte in Mindanao and wanted the program to start September this year.
Under the Joint Exchange Program I proposed when I was the DA Secretary, local executives from the Bangsamoro Region, agriculturists and farmer leaders will undergo a short course of about 7 days in Turkey which would include exposure to the modern agricultural areas of the country.
I believe that the best way to influence the mindset of our leaders and farmers on agriculture is to expose them to good examples and benefits of modern farming technology and the best way to do this is to show them how a Muslim country has become the 7th largest agricultural producer in the world.
Governors and Mayors must be involved in the Exchange Program because they could serve as the catalyst of agricultural modernisation in their areas when properly oriented on the benefits of modern farming technology.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Murad Embrahim will be officially briefed o the program when I meet him within the next few days.
As agreed, the scholars in the Exchange Program would be in five batches representing five provinces within the BARMM.
As each batch of scholars go home to their province, the Turkey Government through the Turkey International Cooperation Agency (TICA) will conduct follow through programs to ensure that what the scholars learned in their Short Course in Agriculture in Turkey would be applied in their farms.
The main focus of the program would be trainings on grains production, dairy farming, cattle and goat raising targeting the huge Halal market not only in the Philippines but also in the Middle East.
(Photos of the visit of Turkey Ambassador Artemiz Sumer to the DA Secretary’s Office taken by Gian Carlo Luage, DA AFID.)
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