Press release…
Aegean Furniture, Paper and Forestry Products Exporters’ Association Chairperson Cahit Doğan Yağcı said that İzmir, the leading agrifood western province of Turkey, plays for leadership in medicinal and aromatic plants.
Yağcı also underlined that as of 2020, the unit price of EİB’s (Aegean Exporters’ Associations) non-wood forestry products is 85% higher than the average of Turkey.
Yağcı said, “We are carrying out various studies under the coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture for a sustainable production for the purposes of increasing the production areas of these products, which are so important, and producing them with the right methods.”
Pointing out that with the Kınık Agriculture-Based Specialized Plant Production Organized Industrial Zone, of which they are one of the partners, Yağcı noted, “The cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants and the development of industry accordingly, will make İzmir a pioneer in this regard.”
Yağcı explained that another aim is to reduce foreign dependency in the seed and seedling sector, which is one of the major import items of the country, together with the production in the project area.
In this way, studies will be carried out to increase the production of domestic seeds and seedlings, breeding and R&D studies for obtaining quality species and for ancestral (heirloom) seeds to find their deserved place again.