Turkish agency supports olive production in Montenegro

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is now helping Montenegro advance its olive production to be able to penetrate world markets more effectively, a statement by the agency said on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the agency opened an olive oil production plant in Montenegro's coastal city of Ulcinj in the village of Pistula to support farmers in areas with the capacity of producing 200 tons of olive oil per season.

"The methods and technologies used in the production of olive oil in Montenegro are a little backward in comparison to today's standards, and this situation affects the income level and life standards of oil producers negatively in spite of the existence of suitable lands," the statement said.

TIKA's support of olive production in Montenegro is taking place under the project, "The Balkans and Eastern European Countries Food and Life Security Support Program", which aims at enabling food production and delivering services compatible with those in the world markets.

TIKA will organize a training program in March 2018 for 'Maslinari Pistule' olive producers association in Montenegro regarding periodicity, which has an adverse effect on the olive yield.

It was stated that the training would cover the topics of olive production, fertilization, applied pruning, irrigation, and fighting against olive diseases and pests.

The statement added that members of the association would be given training on producing products apart from olive oil, such as table olive and traditional olive soaps.

The training program will be supported with Turkish technologies used in the field, which are a flagship in the international markets.