15 October 2025, Ankara – In an era where the efficient use of resources is paramount, ensuring that internationally financed projects deliver tangible results is critical for advancing food security and sustainable agriculture. Effective, results-based monitoring provides the evidence needed to learn from past interventions and make informed policy decisions for the future.

Recognizing this need, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new project entitled, “Enhancing the Capacity of Results-Based Monitoring of Internationally Financed Projects to Improve Policymaking in the Food and Agriculture Sector”. The project, implemented under the umbrella of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes (FTPP), kicked off with a launch event and inception workshop on 6 October in Ankara.

The event brought together senior representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye (MoAF), FAO and participant delegations from Uzbekistan. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the ministries of agriculture of Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in results-based monitoring and impact evaluation, both of which are essential for evidence-based policymaking, better resource allocation and the effective assessment of project impacts.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Türkiye, highlighted the critical link between monitoring and food security. “The effective use of financial resources provided to the FTPP is crucial. This project is vital to ensure that our interventions are efficient, impactful and truly contribute to our shared goal of ending hunger”, she explained.

Ferhat Çolak, Director General for European Union and Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, emphasized the collaborative nature of the initiative. “This project will serve as a common capacity-building platform not only for Türkiye but also for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan”, he noted. “Monitoring the real impacts of these projects is of great importance for the effective use of resources and for strengthening transparency and accountability. The establishment of results-oriented monitoring mechanisms will enable us to make decisions based on more concrete evidence for the design of future projects.” 

Yusuf Erkan Özçelik, Head of the Department of Guidance and Inspection at the Ministry, underlined the importance of strong oversight. “An effective audit mechanism ensures that resources are not wasted and that errors are caught early. This increases the accountability of institutions and, most importantly, the trust of the public”, he said. “While our country is already in a strong position, we will gain significant ground through this project by further developing our monitoring capacity.” 

Following the opening remarks, a series of technical sessions provided a forum for experts from FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to present the project’s scope, objectives and key components. The sessions also offered an introduction to results-based monitoring practices and an overview of existing monitoring systems in Türkiye. The day concluded with a participatory workshop that analysed the needs and priorities of project beneficiaries, which will guide future training activities.

Running until September 2026, the project will provide training, develop new tools and facilitate knowledge exchange between the participating countries to build a strengthened framework for monitoring and evaluating projects in the agrifood sector.

About the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes

The objectives of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes are to provide support to ensure food security, rural poverty reduction and sustainable forest management; combat desertification; and preserve ecosystems in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and other countries of mutual interest.

Established in 2007, the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture (FTPP) has benefited from trust fund contributions totalling USD 10 million, financed by the Government of Türkiye and represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. During the first phase of the programme, 28 projects were implemented in 16 countries between 2009 and 2015.

In 2014, Türkiye and FAO commenced the second phase of the FTPP along with the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme (FTFP) with additional funding of USD 20 million, bringing Türkiye’s total contribution to USD 30 million.

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