CIVIL SOCIETY DIALOGUE “JOLLY LIVESTOCK IN TURKEY AND EU PROJECT” WAS COMPLETED!
Qualified to receive a grant from the EU within the scope of the fifth term of the “Civil Society Dialogue Program”, which aims to develop social and cultural dialogue between the European Union (EU) and the candidate countries to become EU members, project partner from Spain “Valencia Regional Food Business Federation (FEDACOVA), and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry conducted ” Jolly Livestock Turkey and EU Project ” was completed by Union of Dairy, Beef, Food Industrialists and Producers of Turkey (SETBIR).
The general purpose of the project, whose subject was “ensuring animal welfare on the farm and during transport”, was to improve animal welfare by means of correcting common wrong practices by farmers, livestock owners, transport vehicle drivers, resting places and officers at border control points and by teaching and adopting correct practices. The specific aim of the project was determined as the development of tools for strengthening the capacity of the target group on animal welfare and raising awareness for making animal welfare a standard practice in line with regulations.
Our project started with the kick-off meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, 19 June 2019. The first of the training activities of the project, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, was held at the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry in Mersin on January 24, 2020, following the preparation of the necessary training materials. The training activities were then carried out in Bursa on February 14, 2020 and in Erzurum on February 28, 2020. Training activities in Balıkesir and Edirne could be done online, not face to face, due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Our project ended with an online closing meeting on Friday, October 23, 2020, again due to the coronavirus outbreak. Making the opening speech, Tarık Tezel, Chairman of SETBİR, pointed out that the quality of the milk and meat obtained from the animal of a producer who properly applies animal welfare, which is one of the important steps in the development of animal husbandry, will increase.
Animal welfare in farms means adequate and quality nutrition, area allocated per animal, soil structure, air quality and temperature. While taking into account these factors in modern business, due to the limited possibilities of small family businesses, bovine and ovine animal welfare in Turkey is not sufficient. On the other hand, the inadequacy of quality pastures in Turkey, lack of adequate supply of feed production and in the process becoming dependent on imports because of the shortage is located, efforts are continuing to improve the physical conditions in animal shelters compared to the past.
Factors such as loading animals on transport vehicles, characteristics of loading and unloading ramps, area per animal in the vehicle, characteristics of the transport vehicle, road and climatic conditions also have a direct impact on welfare.
The most important output of this project is the preparation of easy-to-use guides and information notes for animal welfare on the farm and during transport. These guides are simple, easy-to-understand guides that our farmers, animal owners, border control officers and drivers of animal transport can always refer to.
The second important output of our project has been the training activities we conduct for farmers, bovine and ovine owners and all veterinary border control points. These training activities are invaluable in raising awareness of animal welfare practices and their impact on animal and animal product quality.
Following the Chairman of SETBİR, Tarık Tezel, T.C. Bülent Özcan, General Manager of Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs, talked about the success and outputs of this project and the work carried out by the Directorate for EU Affairs for civil society organizations.
Following the opening speeches, a panel was held on Animal Welfare Practices and Its Importance in our Country and the European Union. In the panel, Burcu Altınordu, Head of Sectoral Policies Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs, on “Animal Welfare in the EU”, Bayram Sertkaya, Head of Animal Health and Quarantine Department, General Directorate of Food and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, on “The Importance of Animal Welfare in Animal Health” and and Tahir Selçuk Yavuz, Member of the Board of SETBİR on “Animal Welfare in Dairy Cattle Farms” shared their opinions.
All information about our project, meeting notes, presentations made in the trainings and prepared guides can be accessed from the website “www.hayvanrefahiprojesi.org” and the “Mutlu Hayvancılık Projesi” mobile application.
About the programme
Civil Society Dialogue has emerged as an important step which strengthens social and cultural dialogue by making away with the biases and doubts between Turkey and EU and by ensuring the social integration of Turkey to Europe.
Civil Society Dialogue Programme which is implemented with EU’s financial support, was designed in 2006 by Directorate for EU Affairs (during those dates General Secretariat for EU Affairs) as a platform that will bring Turkey and EU member states from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together around a common topic and will enable communities to get to know each other, exchange information and establish lasting dialogue. The first implementation of the program, which has been running for more than 10 years, started in 2008.
Fifth Term of Civil Society Dialogue Programme
Within the scope of Civil Society Dialogue V (CSD-V) which is implemented in the second period of IPA that involves the years of 2014 – 2020, 7 million Euro support was supplied to 40 dialogue projects that NGO’s from Turkey and from EU member/EU candidate countries will implement together. The projects that receive grants focus on dialogue development and cooperation themes and work on social issues for disadvantaged groups such as the disabled, the elderly and the refugees. The projects are implemented in areas such as gender equality, education, health, agriculture, food and environment.
Closing meeting notes of Jolly Livestock in Turkey and EU Project – 23 October 2020
