THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
Related Articles
August 2026…
Press release…
QU Dongyu spoke at the International Horticultural Congress in Japan underscoring the need for investment, innovation and stronger policies to boost the sector…
Kyoto, Japan/Rome – Agriculture must move beyond a primary focus on producing sufficient quantities of food and place greater emphasis on providing the diverse and nutritious foods needed for healthy diets, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said Monday, highlighting horticulture’s contribution to better nutrition, resilient livelihoods and more sustainable agrifood systems.
“Success can no longer be measured simply by how much food we produce. It must also be measured by whether agriculture provides the foods that healthy societies require, and whether those foods are available, accessible and affordable for everyone,” he told the International Horticultural Congress 2026 in Kyoto, pointing to the role of fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops in healthy diets, biodiversity, climate resilience and livelihoods.
Between 2010 and 2024, fruit and vegetable production grew faster than cereals, and horticulture now makes up almost a quarter of global agricultural production value — about 1.4 trillion dollars. Exports grew roughly 2.6 percent annually over the period, reaching 175 million tonnes worth 240 billion dollars by 2024.
But, despite the economic success, this hasn’t translated into healthier diets, the Director-General told the audience of scientists, policymakers, business representatives and producers.
Productivity, availability, affordability…
The Director-General identified productivity, availability and affordability as three interconnected challenges to unlocking horticulture’s full nutrition potential.
Yields have grown less than one percent annually, lagging behind cereals amid underinvestment in research, genetics and infrastructure underlining the problem of productivity.
When it comes to availability, FAO’s latest analysis shows that in 2023, only about half of countries produce enough fruits and vegetables to meet the FAO/WHO target of 400g per person daily. Average consumption is considerably lower, at an estimated 80 grams of fruit and 190 grams of vegetables per person per day globally.
In terms of affordability, producer prices rose between 2016 and 2025 in 89 percent of countries for fruits and 93 percent for vegetables, with median annual increases of approximately 4.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively
Current trends point to significant gaps ahead. By 2050, projections suggest that fewer than one-third of countries in sub-Saharan Africa will have sufficient fruit and vegetable supplies to meet the joint FAO/WHO recommendation.
With land and water resources increasingly constrained and climate change intensifying pressure through rising temperatures, water scarcity, extreme weather, pests and diseases, the Director-General called for investment in improved seed and planting material, healthier soils, efficient irrigation, mechanization and digital technologies, extension services, post-harvest systems and stronger links between producers and markets
The Director-General highlighted the importance of improving production efficiency.
“Future growth must increasingly come from producing more with fewer resources,” he noted…
