İbrahim Yumaklı

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has conducted approximately 67,000 inspections in the first half of the year as part of its campaign against illegal fishing, fining thousands of fishermen and workplaces who did not comply with the regulations.

In the first six months of 2023, the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture teams conducted 66,764 inspections.

A total of 4,630 fire water ponds and pools have been constructed around several forested areas for quick water supply to intervene in wildfires more efficiently, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry announced.

The government is working on plans to establish agricultural organized industrial zones (OIZ) that will help bring food prices under control, Agriculture Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has said.

At some 100 locations agricultural OIZs, which will use geothermal power, will be set up, according to the minister.

Approximately 6,900 hectares of land have been reduced into ashes in 1,022 forest fires since the beginning of the year, with a significant portion of this damage occurring during the fires that took place between July 10 and 18, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has informed.

Istanbul has recorded the highest temperatures in 23 years, with 44.1 degrees on July 26, as the firefighting crews continue to battle massive wildfires in several parts of the country, including a four-day-long one in the southern province of Antalya's Kemer district.

Firefighting teams have been struggling to contain a massive wildfire in the southern province of Antalya's Kemer district for the second consecutive day, as authorities have informed that approximately 180 hectares of land have been reduced to ashes as of late July 25, with extreme temperatures scorching Türkiye and the region.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has started using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) technology for mapping, creating libraries, and obtaining registration certificates for Türkiye's geographically indicated products, including olive oil, honey and hazelnut.

After an intense 52-hour battle, the forest fire in the northwestern province of Çanakkale has finally been brought under control, as confirmed by Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, with another fire put out in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Raging wildfires in several provinces, notably in the southern cities of Hatay and Mersin, have been taken under control after two days of strenuous efforts, while at least 500 hectares of land have been reduced to ashes in the fire in the northwestern city of Çanakkale.

Wildfires have gripsed forests in threee Turkish provinces; Hatay, Çanakkale and Mersin on July 16.

Aerial response to the fires in Hatay, Mersin and Çanakkale resumed in the morning.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı said, 'we think that the fire in Hatay started because of the cleaning of the garden.'