TİKA Continues to Support Agriculture and Employment in Montenegro

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) continues to support the improvement of the financial position of family businesses with the “Raspberry Cultivation Project,” which is a subcomponent of the Agricultural Development Programs it launched in the Balkans in order to improve access to food and reduce unemployment.

In addition to other agricultural production projects it implemented in Montenegro in order to reduce migration, increase employment, and improve access to food, TİKA had previously supported 320 families with the aim of improving fruit production. The Agency has recently provided support for 10 more families, increasing the total number of families who received help to engage in agricultural production to 330.

The efforts that families who earn a living from raspberry production devote to sustainability and quality improvement in agricultural production were supported with the agricultural equipment provided to 10 family businesses that are unable to take advantage of agricultural production opportunities due to the harsh climatic conditions in Sandžak.

TİKA’s Agricultural Production Projects Improve the Habit of Working Together

The Equipment Delivery Ceremony held in Bijelo Polje was attended by Ernad Suljević, Deputy Mayor of Bijelo Polje; Slobodan Jelic, Director of Agriculture at the Municipality of Bijelo Polje; Abdurrahman S.Toprak, TİKA’s Podgorica Coordinator; and families who grow raspberries.

At the ceremony, Deputy Mayor Ernad Suljević stated that TİKA provided continuous support for the people of Bijelo Polje and Montenegro and that they were grateful to TİKA for its agricultural projects.

Suljević noted that the projects implemented by TİKA as part of its Agricultural Development Programs in the Balkans reduced migration from the area and contributed to building a sustainable life and improving the habit of working together in order to improve the living conditions of each family, especially farmers.

Agricultural Input and Production Subsidies Continue                                                              

TİKA has so far implemented the “Greenhouse Vegetable Production Development Project,” “Fruit Tree Sapling Production Development Project,” and “Beekeeping and Bee Products Development Project” in the field of agriculture in the country. The Agricultural Development Programs launched by TİKA in Montenegro have so far reached more than 2000 Agricultural Producers.

Farmers who harvested raspberries for the first time in 2018 thanks to similar raspberry production development projects implemented in the cities of Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Petnjica, and Plav stated that the average amount of raspberry harvested varied between 1,000 kg and 1,500 kg and that their businesses generated an extra revenue of 1,500 Euros to 2,500 Euros on average per year thanks to the project.