Bekir Pakdemirli

Water levels in the dams supplying Istanbul have reached 79.4 percent thanks to recent rainfall.

Data from the Istanbul Water and Sewage Administration (İSKİ) showed that water level in Istanbul dams were at 24 percent on Jan. 11, when the city's water supplies were at alarmingly low levels, but increased by almost three times in three-and-half months.

Turkish ministers condemned on April 9 the Italian prime minister's remarks on the country's president.

"I condemn the low and unacceptable way of the appointed Italian Prime Minister [Mario Draghi] towards our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan," Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan said on Twitter over the remarks of Draghi, calling Erdoğan a "dictator."

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has said that Turkey's biggest cities, the capital Ankara, Istanbul, and the Aegean province of Izmir, will face no water shortage problems for a few months as they have enough water stored to meet the needs of the cities.

A person consumed 173 kilograms of fruits and 269 kilograms of vegetables on average in Turkey in 2020, Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has said.

Some 14.5 million tons of fruit and some 22.5 million tons of vegetables were consumed overall across the country, Pakdemirli said.

Six Turkish ministers gathered on Dec. 30 to discuss the country's reform agenda, the host minister said.

Energy production at the Ilısu Dam in southeast Turkey has reached full capacity, Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said on Dec. 24, adding that it is expected to contribute 2.8 billion lira ($366 million) a year to the economy.

Turkey is planning to build up to 150 underground dams as part of the government's Drought Action Plan, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has said.

The ministry has devised an action plan to overcome the impact of global warming.

A 70-year-old man living in the southeastern province of Mardin has turned a dumpsite into a forest by planting thousands of saplings.

Şeyhmus Erginoğlu has planted a total of 14,000 trees, including 7,000 pine trees and 3,000 plane trees, in the idle areas of Mardin for 25 years, making the city green where the continental climate prevails.

Turkish farmers have been paid a total of 1.25 billion euros ($1.5) billion in assistance over the last eight years as part of a project in cooperation with the European Union, Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has said.

The fish population has increased rapidly following the strict implementation of the law against illegal fishing, where the officials have seized around 150 illegal fishing boats so far and fined thousands of Turkish Liras to the poachers, the Agriculture and Forestry minister said.