Within the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center (İTTM) project, established by the Izmir Commodity Exchange with the goal of shaping the future of agriculture and farmers, DenizBank—which has been continuously supporting agriculture for 20 years—and İş Bank, which has always prioritized supporting agriculture and promoting the use of technology in the sector, have become partners.

The Izmir Agricultural Technology Center, Türkiye’s first R&D ecosystem focused on agricultural information technologies and to be managed by a joint-stock company, continues its journey even stronger with these significant collaborations.

Under the company that will manage the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center, developed by the Izmir Commodity Exchange (İTB)—Türkiye’s first exchange, established in 1891—DenizBank and İş Bank will also take part. At two separate signing ceremonies held in Izmir, intention and cooperation agreements were signed with the senior representatives of both banks.

“We are continuing our journey much stronger”

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Işınsu Kestelli, Chairperson of the Izmir Commodity Exchange, emphasized that as Türkiye’s first exchange, they have been working for 130 years to advance agriculture and agricultural trade. She stated: “The Izmir Agricultural Technology Center is a prestigious project of ours, born out of the findings of the ‘Global Integration of Turkish Agriculture and Agriculture 4.0 Report,’ prepared by our Exchange and Ege University. İTTM, aiming to become the ‘Silicon Valley of Agriculture,’ will be an R&D ecosystem operating under the ‘Living Lab’ concept, producing IT-based solutions for the agricultural sector. Thanks to İTTM, private companies investing in agriculture, technology firms, start-ups, scientists, producers, and financial institutions will work together under one roof to create permanent solutions to the problems of Turkish agriculture. New technologies to be developed will increase productivity in production and provide savings in the use of resources such as water and energy. Both our producers, our traders, and our country will benefit. I strongly believe that DenizBank, a strong bank that has stood out with its continuous support for agriculture over the years, becoming our partner through its subsidiary NEOHUB, will accelerate our project toward its goals. We are also very pleased that İş Bank, the Republic of Türkiye’s first national bank, which guided the young republic’s rise through agriculture, has joined as one of our project partners. We believe that agriculture will once again play a locomotive role in the economy in the coming period, just as it did in the early years of the Republic. İş Bank’s experience and DenizBank’s commitment to agriculture will provide us with great strength in this journey. We hope that our partnership under the company managing İTTM will be beneficial for all parties and continue to grow.”

“Technology transformation in agriculture for sustainability is on our agenda”

Burak Koçak, Executive Vice President of DenizBank Agricultural Banking Group, stated: “With our human resources and product diversity, as well as our widespread branch network across the country, we are the first private bank to focus on this sector. For 20 years, we have been opening the doors of the banking system to our farmers in even the most remote corners of Türkiye, with the mission of providing financing for the sustainability of rural life, contributing to more efficient resource management for a growing population, and strengthening the social and ecological structure of the sector. We have long kept the transformation of technology in agriculture on our agenda for sustainability. With our innovative subsidiary NEOHUB, which also supports the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Türkiye for the development of agricultural technologies, we have taken a new step toward our sustainability goals as a partner of İTTM. We know that the integration of smart farming applications into agriculture not only provides cost and efficiency advantages to producers but also significantly supports the protection of natural resources. In our strong bond with agriculture, we have always acted with a sense of responsibility toward future generations. From now on, we will continue to stand by our sector with a holistic approach, both financially and technologically, considering the legacy we will leave to the children of our country and the world.”

“We will develop technology for sustainable growth in agriculture and finance”

Gürhan Çam, General Manager of NEOHUB, said: “NEOHUB was established to combine technology and finance expertise to create new business models in Türkiye and worldwide. It set out to implement financial technology solutions that will contribute to the entire ecosystem. Our cooperation with the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center to produce innovative, sustainable, and constructive solutions for the agricultural sector, which is of vital importance for our country and planet, is extremely valuable. With next-generation technologies that will support sustainable growth in the agriculture and finance ecosystem, we will sign projects that will move the sector forward. As a subsidiary of DenizBank Financial Services Group, we are proud and excited to contribute to the future of agriculture and the goals of our producers.”

“We aim to bring together all components of agriculture under this center”

İş Bank Deputy General Manager İzlem Erdem stated in her speech at the signing ceremony that sustainable agriculture is among İş Bank’s priorities: “We continue our activities with the goal of leaving a livable world to future generations. Agriculture is of critical importance for both human life and the economy. We believe that İTTM, which was established to contribute to the adaptation of national agriculture to changing conditions and the development of new and effective technologies, will soon become an R&D hub for agricultural technologies. In the digital transformation of agriculture, we aim to bring together all components of the agricultural sector under this center, by contributing our experiences in the agricultural entrepreneurship ecosystem to this project—from farmers and agricultural enterprises to other producers in the sector, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Academics and researchers will have the opportunity to find solutions to real problems with a scientific approach in İTTM, an open innovation center. We believe this project, which will facilitate farmers’ access to technology and improve access to food, accelerating digital transformation in agriculture, will add great value to our country.”

About the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center

The Izmir Agricultural Technology Center (İTTM) is a project launched under the leadership of the Izmir Commodity Exchange, in partnership with the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Izmir Institute of Technology, Yaşar University, Izmir Chamber of Commerce, Aegean Region Chamber of Industry, Aegean Exporters’ Associations, Izmir Chamber of Shipping, and Izmir Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen, with guided project support from the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Izmir Development Agency. It aims to unite agriculture with technology.

The Izmir Agricultural Technology Center will serve as a bridge for the development of agricultural technologies, set the rules as an interface, create a common language among stakeholders, and function as both an attraction hub for agricultural technologies and a dedicated R&D center for agricultural innovations. 

The goal is to contribute to the adaptation of national agriculture to changing conditions and the development of new and effective technologies.