MAKÜ, Organized a Workshop on Digital Technologies in Agriculture.

In order to discuss the importance and contributions of digitalization in the agricultural sector, which has become a strategic focus in the world and in Turkey, and to evaluate the R&D studies that can be carried out in this field, the "Workshop on Digital Technologies in Agriculture" was organized hosted by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. The program started with a moment of silence, the singing of the National Anthem, and the viewing of the MAKÜ promotional film, and continued with opening speeches.

In the opening speech of the workshop, Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar stated that significant studies are being conducted in the field of livestock at MAKÜ and shared information about these studies. Regarding digital technologies in agriculture, Rector Dalgar said:

“As the world does, we also need to start using digital technologies in agriculture. It is quite valuable for Turkey to be a country that conducts R&D and produces in the field of digital technologies. The world is moving towards a point we call agriculture 5.0 or smart agriculture with artificial intelligence and big data. We believe that universities and relevant institutions in Turkey should not remain indifferent to this issue. Considering the fact that the workforce in agriculture is gradually decreasing, we can better understand how essential agricultural technologies are for the future.

Our humble experience in our livestock studies is that if we cannot structure the focus correctly, cannot create a comprehensive focus strategy, if the field of study does not become the management policy of the university and is not financed by the public, these R&D projects often do not go beyond international publications. Because the products developed by academics need to be commercialized after a certain stage. That's where our chamber of commerce, our exchange, our agricultural chamber, in other words, civil actors, market actors come into play. It is very important to do these works together with the private sector and the business world.

By including the field of digital technologies in agriculture in the scope of our regional development projects, we are embarking on a journey that can produce added value for our country. Today, our expectation from you, esteemed participants, is to determine what are the priorities of Turkey in terms of agricultural technologies, what kind of organizational structure, what kind of journey we should plan, and we want to create our report and roadmap by taking advice from the masters of this work, people who have contributed to this work.

We Want to Make Burdur and Western Mediterranean Turkey's R&D Center in Digital Agriculture

We have to create a smart and multidisciplinary work organization. We need to establish a large working team consisting of electronics, mechanical, computer, and agricultural professors and work together. Along with this, we need to be on the side of commercialization and being in the market. Together with the stakeholder actors in Burdur and the Western Mediterranean region, we want to make this region Turkey's R&D center in digital agriculture. We dream of making our technopark a specialized technopark in this field. All of these are plans that we will implement step by step over time. During our journey, we will constantly consult with you, esteemed professors, and representatives of important R&D or product-developing companies in the sector to determine our needs. If we accept the fact that Turkey is especially dependent on foreign countries in agricultural and livestock technologies, we would be happy if we can produce a solution to a problem in this field of our country and contribute.”

Later, Ege University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Arif Behiç Tekin, who spoke, emphasized the production of knowledge and said, “Experience and experimentation are very important when producing knowledge. In agriculture, we must first produce knowledge and then turn that knowledge into technology. When you look at agriculture, both the local knowledge we produce in the field and the academic knowledge we produce in the laboratory in an academic environment are very valuable. It is very important for the problem from the field to flow here and for us to produce solutions by focusing on this problem. By understanding the problem in the field and considering the solutions of the producers there, if any, we have the chance to develop better solutions by blending them with academic knowledge.”

Akdeniz University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Sayın Mehmet Topakçı, in his speech, drew attention to the fact that tasks requiring advanced technology and cannot be accomplished with human labor are increasing in the agricultural production process, saying, “Considering that the average age of farmers is 58 in the world and 52 in our country, it can be said that the aging population needs Machine Insulation support. In our country, the current situation where the average farm size is small and the number of parcels is high creates difficulties in the effective application of agricultural technologies.”

After the opening speeches, the workshop's session panels were held. In the 1st session, Ankara University Faculty Member Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Metin Özgüven, Dr. Hayrettin Özer from TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, and Hakan Öztürk, Board Member of the Greenhouse Construction Equipment and Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters Association; in the 2nd session, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. İlker Hüseyin Çelen, Ömer Faruk Karamürsel from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies, Yılmaz Çağlar from Netafim Irrigation Systems; in the 3rd session, Akdeniz University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Murad Çanakçı, Antalya Chamber of Agriculture Board Chairman Nazif Alp, and Erdi Dilber from Targe Greenhouse Automation Systems made presentations.