TİKA Supports the Development of Olive Cultivation in Montenegro

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye, the Olive Research Institute in Izmir, and Olive Growers’ and Olive Oil Producers’ Associations in Montenegro organized the program “Basic Training on Olive Cultivation” in the cities of Bar and Ulcinj.

In Montenegro, TİKA has been supporting olive and olive oil production, which has a major place in agricultural production in the country, since 2010, as part of its “Programs for Support for Food Security and Life Safety in the Balkans and Eastern European Countries,” which aim to increase agricultural production and ensure food security. In this context, the “Basic Training on Olive Cultivation” was held by TİKA and the Olive Research Institute in Izmir in the cities of Bar and Ulcinj from March 18 to 21 with the participation of Municipalities and Producers’ Associations. 70 olive growers and olive oil producers participated in the theoretical and applied training courses taught by specialists from the Olive Research Institute in Izmir on Pruning, Fertilizing, and Disease and Pest Control.

In her speech at the certificate presentation ceremony held in Ulcinj and Bar on the last day of the training, Songül Ozan, the Republic of Türkiye’s Ambassador to Montenegro, stated that both nations have lived together in this land for centuries and have a common culture and history. Ambassador Ozan noted that our country is aware that one of the three oldest olive trees in the world is located in Bar. She reminded that TİKA implemented projects in every field from education to health to agriculture to media in every municipality of Montenegro, and built an olive oil production plant in 2016 to increase olive oil production. At the end of her speech, Ambassador Ozan thanked the specialists who arrived from Türkiye and said that she hoped the training would be helpful to the trainees.

In his speech, Dušan Raičević, Mayor of Bar, stated that olive and olive oil production has experienced a golden age in the last 10 years and that they were now in the transition from conventional production methods to modern production. Mayor Raičević noted that TİKA has implemented various projects in the fields of infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, and media in Bar Municipality to date, and that they were ready to carry out joint projects with TİKA both in the agricultural sector and in other fields. Raičević added that the study indicating that the olive tree in Bar is 2246 years old was conducted by academics from Türkiye in 2015, and thanked TİKA for supporting the development of olive cultivation.

Abdurrahman S. Toprak, TİKA’s Coordinator in Podgorica, stated that TİKA has implemented nearly 430 projects in Montenegro since 2007, that 30 of these projects focused on the development of agricultural production, and that nearly 2000 families benefited from these projects. Toprak added that the olive cultivation training was held in cooperation with Bar and Ulcinj Municipalities and Producers’ Associations, and that TİKA was ready to implement new projects, especially in the field of education, if needed and requested.

Serkan Kaptan, a specialist from the Olive Research Institute in Izmir, said that he was happy to visit Montenegro again 10 years after his educational visit in 2012, and that Montenegrin producers have made significant progress in production during this period. He thanked TİKA and the producers for the successful training process.

TİKA has been operating in Montenegro since 2007 and has supported more than 2000 farmers through its agricultural projects.