On the final day of TEKNOFEST Southeast at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport, the Agricultural Technologies Cluster (TÜME) Foundation held a panel titled "Agriculture, Youth and Technology." The panel, organized under the themes of "Policy, Education, Investment and Adaptation," addressed the agricultural technology ecosystem that brings together producers, young people, universities, technology companies, entrepreneurs and investors.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, Council of Higher Education (YÖK) President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar and TÜME Board of Trustees Chair Abdulkadir Karagöz attended the panel.
Yumaklı: Food security is a national security issue
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said agricultural production was essential at every stage of human life. Yumaklı said countries regard food security as a national security issue and stressed that no gaps should be left in the production chain stretching from seed to table.
Yumaklı said the concept of an agricultural technology cluster entered the TEKNOFEST framework through TÜME last year, adding that the initiative was important for securing the food supply. He highlighted the importance of sound planning in agriculture, autonomous farm systems, data analysis and sustainable practices.
Yumaklı said Türkiye’s population had risen from 68 million in the 2000s to 86 million today, adding that production should be assessed not only by the number of animals or products but also by productivity. The minister stressed that technology should be considered together with production planning.
Young farmers and agricultural technologies
Yumaklı said the average age of farmers in Türkiye was 57. He stated that 13% of the 2.38 million farmers registered in the Farmer Registration System were young, 58% were middle-aged and the remainder were in the older age group. He said support for initiatives by young people and women entrepreneurs in agriculture would continue.
Yumaklı said seed technology was also part of agricultural production, adding that Türkiye produces 96% of its seeds and ranks among the world’s top 10 countries. He said 7.3 million hectares in Türkiye had been opened to irrigation and that efforts to develop irrigation technologies were continuing.
Yumaklı said Türkiye had 61 organized agricultural zones and that production had begun in 16 of them. He said the zones would be brought into operation gradually and that the goal was a strong Türkiye in global markets through ORKÖY loans, support and grants.
Yumaklı also examined the field-monitoring system using satellite images at the Agricultural Technologies Cluster Foundation. At the experience workshops titled "From Soil to Technology," he spoke with children and received information about a system that automates the preparation of animal feed. Yumaklı said Türkiye had the capacity to grow various products in different seasons and to produce and supply different agricultural products throughout the year. He added that production data should be collected and analyzed to improve the implementation of agricultural policies.
New agricultural programs at universities
YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar said agriculture and livestock were as strategic as the defense industry. He said the number of students enrolled in faculties of agriculture was approaching 45,000, while the number in veterinary medicine, including master’s and doctoral students, had reached 20,000.
Özvar said that, alongside conventional agriculture and livestock programs, universities had also incorporated programs on digital agriculture, smart farming, autonomous systems, robotics, agricultural machinery technology and drone technologies into their curricula. He said enrollment in associate and undergraduate programs opened in agriculture and livestock over the past three years had reached 100% capacity.
Özvar said entrepreneurial models would develop in which young people working in agriculture and livestock in the future would work together with information technology, computer science, mechatronics and other engineering fields. He announced that 10 universities had joined the cooperation with TÜME. He said the cooperation aimed to increase students’ opportunities for practical training and entrepreneurship after graduation.
Ziraat Bank’s role in agricultural finance
Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar said the bank’s founding mission was to finance agriculture. Çakar said the bank had operated in this field for 163 years and was among the institutions with extensive expertise in agricultural finance.
Çakar said the bank’s assets had exceeded 10 trillion lira and announced that the total of cash and non-cash loans had surpassed 6 trillion lira. He said Ziraat Bank operated at 131 locations in 23 countries abroad.
Çakar said self-sufficiency in agriculture, sustainability, accessibility and affordability were important concepts. He said climate change, population growth, the pandemic and disruptions in supply chains had demonstrated the strategic nature of agriculture.
