European development bank backs organic farming

İZMİR- Anadolu Agency

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a Turkish organic farming company have signed a €16 million (nearly $18 million) financing deal to help take the firm to the next level.     

Işık Tarım will use the loan to expand its production and reduce waste, said the EBRD on Sept. 17.       

"The EBRD funds will enable the company to build a new hazelnut processing plant in Ereğli, in the Black Sea region of Turkey, and finance the expansion of freeze-dried fruit production at its Afyon plant in central Anatolia," the statement said.     

It will also allow the company to improve its land management, introduce energy and resource-saving technologies, as well as reduce and recover waste, reconfirming its commitment to sustainability.     

"The EBRD never stopped investing in Turkey even during difficult times, because there are always good projects you can find in Turkey, and Işık Organic is one of those," Arvid Tuerkner, the EBRD managing director for Turkey, told Anadolu Agency.     

As a leading institutional investor in Turkey, the EBRD has invested €11.5 billion (some $13 billion) in the country since 2009, including investments last year alone totaling some $1.2 billion and $621.5 million in 2019.