* Photo: AKP Twitter account
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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the launch of the 1st Water Forum and mass opening ceremony of 363 facilities today (March 29).
In his speech at the Presidential Complex in the capital city of Ankara, Erdoğan underlined a "widespread misperception" and indicated that Turkey is not a water rich country: "On the contrary, given the amount of water per capita, we are a water stressed country."
He also drew attention to the fact that Turkey has to share its water resources with its neighbors such as Iraq and Syria.
Speaking about Turkey's agricultural production within this context, Erdoğan argued that "despite the pandemic and meteorological drought, the country has broken records in agricultural production in its Republican history," noting that Turkey's agricultural output has increased by 20 percent to 334 billion lira, when compared to the figures in the previous year.
"We are still the leading country in Europe in terms of agricultural output," said President and AKP Chair Erdoğan further.
He noted, "There is essentially no difference between preserving our water and protecting our homeland. To that end, we have such responsibilities as renewing and improving our agricultural irrigation systems."
'Need for water increases day by day'
"Water is a crucial blessing for humanity along with all living beings," said AKP's President Erdoğan and briefly stated the following:
"Water is an irreplaceable element not only for our lives but also for our economic development and growth. In order to sustainably meet our needs, it is of utmost importance that we use the existing resources in the most efficient way and prevent waste.
"We see that the need for water continues to increase due to such reasons as rapid population growth, climate change and drought. While the need for water rises, the water resources at humanity's disposal continue to decrease day by day. This contraction leads to drought, poverty and famine.
"Also due to water scarcity, the ecological balance deteriorates, biological diversity declines and humanity's food security becomes jeopardized. This perilous picture leads to various problems ranging from social turbulences to irregular migration, from famine to international tensions.
"The rising demand for food and energy along with population and the destructive effects of climate change indicate that greater risks await us in the future." (DŞ/SD)
