The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have begun to see the results of the projects and supports towards the Ankara goat which is one of the first icons that come to mind about Ankara. Within this framework, the presence of Ankara goat has doubled in the last 10 years.
The population of Ankara goat, which comes to mind first when it comes to Ankara, the city which is home to 75 percent of those animals had been falling until 2008. In order to put an end to this trend and improve mohair production and quality, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has implemented the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Project, Mohair Support and Mature Goat Support projects, which prevented this species from remaining only in books.
ANKARA GOAT NUMBER HAS DOUBLED
As of 2008, the number of Ankara goat, which fell to 66 thousand 459 in the capital, has increased by more than twice as of 2018 with the projects and supports implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, hence their number has reached around 166 thousand.
Within the scope of the implemented projects, approximately 45 million Turkish Lira were given to Ankara goat and lint in the capital in the last 13 years. In 2018, approximately 5 million pounds of mohair support was given for 30 tons per kg for 164 tons of mohair produced in 303 enterprises. Within the scope of the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Conservation and Development of Genetic Resources Project, approximately 2.5 million Turkish Lira were granted for approximately 44 thousand animals in 63 enterprises. In addition, 2.5 million Turkish Lira of goat support was granted for 100 thousand animals.
ANKARA GOAT IS A CULTURAL HERITAGE
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir PAKDEMİRLİ has underlined the fact that Ankara Goat is an important cultural heritage for our country and capital in addition to its economic value. He added that "the most important yield of Ankara goat is mohair. It is a precious product which is also known as diamond fibre in the world. For this reason, we are determined to expand the value of Ankara goat breeding. We will continue to support our producers in order to increase their welfare by increasing the yield and quality of lint obtained from Ankara goat which is of high economic value".