A cooperation and guided project partnership protocol for the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Izmir Commodity Exchange. The signing ceremony, held on Thursday, November 12, 2020, took place under the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli. The protocol was signed by Dr. Nevzat Birişik, Director General of TAGEM, on behalf of the Ministry, and Işınsu Kestelli, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, on behalf of the Izmir Commodity Exchange. 

Following the signing ceremony, which was attended by the Governor of Izmir Yavuz Selim Köşger, AK Party Izmir Deputy Ceyda Bölünmez Çankırı, Chairman of the Izmir Chamber of Commerce Mahmut Özgener, and Chairman of EBSO Ender Yorgancılar, Chairperson of the Izmir Commodity Exchange Işınsu Kestelli stated: “As we all witness, the world is undergoing a rapid transformation in information technologies.

This global trend manifests itself in agriculture as smart farming applications, or in other words, Agriculture 4.0. For the future of our agricultural sector and to ensure greater competitiveness internationally, we must integrate these technological advancements into the sector without neglecting the social dimension of agriculture.” Highlighting the improvements this integration could provide in areas such as increased productivity and quality, access to reliable and healthy food, efficient and sustainable use of resources, real-time production performance evaluation, environmentally friendly agricultural production, cost reduction, and easier access to markets, Işınsu Kestelli added: “With our Izmir Agricultural Technology Center Project, which we call İTTM for short, we aim to enable the development of much-needed technological applications in these areas and to bring together producers and entrepreneurs developing agricultural technologies. With its agricultural production potential, academic infrastructure, and innovation-oriented producers, Izmir is the most suitable place for such a center. İTTM will provide an environment where designs, products, and services produced or to be produced using information and high technologies in agriculture can be tested and developed in real-life settings with real users and products. In addition, it will serve as a hub for agricultural technology initiatives and as an R&D base for agricultural technologies during the transition to Agriculture 4.0.”

Emphasizing that the Ministry’s positive reception of the project and approval for cooperation increased their motivation, Kestelli said: “The positive and guiding views of our esteemed directors regarding the İTTM Project have also been a source of guidance for us. On behalf of our Exchange, I would like to express our gratitude, first and foremost, to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli, as well as to our directors and all ministry staff who contributed, for making this opportunity possible. We wish it to be beneficial.”

Dr. Nevzat Birişik, Director General of TAGEM, also emphasized that the project is a very important step for both Izmir and Turkish agriculture, stating: “With the signed cooperation protocol, the Izmir Agricultural Technology Center will be able to benefit from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s data, knowledge, equipment, and expert infrastructure on a project basis.”