Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ahmet GÜMEN, senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, civil servants, heads and managers of non-governmental and professional organizations, members of the press and nearly a thousand Sub-Union Members attended the summit
The opening speech of the summit was made by Hacı Ömer GÜLER, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TÜRKTOB.
TÜRKTOB President GÜLER briefly spoke as follows;
Last year, we produced nearly 1 million 330 thousand tons of certified seeds, 137 million fruit saplings, 2 million vine saplings, 6 billion vegetable seedlings, 91 million strawberry seedlings and 2 billion ornamental plants.
We are talking about a 100% increase in certified seed production, a 300% increase in sapling production, a 95% increase in seedling production, and a 75% increase in ornamental plants production in the last 10 years
The seed industry has become a sector that has had a foreign trade surplus since 2018, with a total export-import coverage ratio of 137% in seeds as of the end of 2022, and 173% when we look at the entire seed industry, including the saplings and ornamental plants.
Today, we export seeds to 121 countries, and when we add saplings and ornamental plants, the number of countries increases to 132. There is no European country to which we do not export. In addition, we have sold 386 million dollars’ worth of products to the Turkish republics, the Middle East, Gulf Countries and Africa by the end of 2022
Moreover, we achieved all this in a world whose population was increasing, struggling with pandemics and wars, and being redesigned with changing trade rules
Additionally, as you know, the negative effects of global warming and drought make the search for durability, efficiency and quality in the seed industry more and more important every day.
Breeding studies and ensuring sustainability in seed growing, taking into account new technologies and changing climatic conditions, are of greater importance than before in terms of food security
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Ahmet GÜMEN emphasized that they will make the biggest investment in plant production in the seed sector in Turkey's new century and briefly spoke as follows:
In seed farming, we strive to increase efficient and high-quality seed production. We produce 97% of our seeds domestically. We implement research, development and breeding programs to develop new seed varieties that will combat the negative effects of climate change and drought.
We have made significant progress in 2023 on very important issues such as agricultural production planning, contract production, registration of lands, and bringing idle agricultural lands into production. These studies will increase our need for certified seeds. Together, we will take steps that will carry our seed industry to the future in both production and quality.
We examine all the demands of the seed industry one by one. We will continue to clash together. Our door is always open to you. I hope the summit will be beneficial to our industry.
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim YUMAKLI attended the summit with a video message.
Minister YUMAKLI's message was as follows
We know that the most important infrastructure investment in plant production is seed production. As the Ministry, we always prioritize policies for our seed industry in order to protect the future of our production. In the last 21 years, we have carried out and continue to carry out important studies to increase the competitiveness of the sector, especially legislative studies. We provided significant support to ensure the development of the sector and farmer-seed farmer integration
As a result, today, 97 percent of the seeds used in our country are produced domestically
We are in a period where we feel the effects of global climate change every day. For this; We carry out breeding programs suitable for cultivation even in conditions such as drought, salinity, low temperature and excessive rainfall
We are in a period when world seed trade is approximately 50 billion dollars. It is important for us to highlight the work of our sector internationally. We will continue to work diligently together for this. I believe that this summit will bring new success to our industry
Türkiye Seed Summit in the New Century continued with sessions after the opening ceremony
The first of the New Century Sessions in Seed Cultivation was attended by Uğur ERDEM, General Director of Plant Production of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Dr. General Director of Food and Control. Dr. Ersin DİLBER and Turkish Grain Board’s Chairman and General Manager Ahmet GÜLDAL attended.
The speakers of the second session were General Director of Agricultural Research and Policies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Metin TÜRKER, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of the General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises, Dr. Hasan GEZGİNÇ, Head of Education and Publication Department, Dr. Bülent Kahraman ÇOLAKOĞLU and Tarım Kredi A.Ş. Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Board Mustafa HAMURCU.
The participants of the Seed Financing Session were T.C. Ziraat Bank Agricultural Banking Group President Serpil GÜNAL, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Seed Department Head Sezgin KARADENİZ, KOSGEB SME Specialist Akın PEHLİVAN and TÜBİTAK Scientific Programs Senior Specialist Dr. Metin YAĞCIOĞLU
In all three sessions, the written and verbal questions submitted by the summit participants were answered in detail.
TURKTED also attended the summit in Antalya. Most of the times TURKTED and TURKTOB participates in the official meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture as well as with the sector stakeholders.
