Ardahan panel highlights local food values and waste reduction

To mark World Food Day, a panel titled ‘Reliable Food, Conscious Consumption, and the Local Values of Ardahan’ was held at Ardahan University. The event, organized in cooperation with the Ardahan Governorate and the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, brought together academics, students, and public officials to discuss food security, conscious consumption, and the fight against food waste.

Ardahan Governor Ömer Hilmi Yamlı emphasized the need to increase added value in local production. He highlighted the critical issue of food waste, noting that between 25% and 40% of food produced in Turkey is lost between the field and the final consumer. Yamlı urged greater attention to preventing waste during production, transport, and consumption.

The panel also focused on promoting regional products such as Ardahan cheese, flower honey, kavılca wheat, Posof beans, and Ardahan goose meat. Discussions included strategies for developing high-value products, such as transitioning from selling raw honey to producing bee milk and bee venom, to enhance the economic potential of the region's agricultural resources.