19 Ekim 2020
Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri-affiliated TAREKS Tohumculuk, conducted a harvest in the field owned by Erdi Gül, a partner of Tarım Kredi, where trials of grain hybrid corn were planted in Beyazaltın Village of Eskişehir.
TAREKS Tohumculuk, an affiliate of Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri, met the high-yield ex-pectations with OSSK 625, TK Doruk, and Gerdano grain hybrid corn varieties suitable for the Kütahya and Eskişehir planting areas. Within the scope of the project initiated to reduce external dependence on hybrid corn seeds, a significant increase in yield was achieved in the field where trial planting was carried out.
Harvest programs were organized in the trial planting areas in Eskişehir for the grain corn hybrids developed by TAREKS, an affiliate of Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri. The high yield obtained as part of the joint effort between Kütahya Regional Union and TAREKS was explained to farmers during the organized event

The program was attended by Ismail Soykan, Deputy Governor of Eskişehir, Köksal Kacır, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkey's Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri Cen-tral Union (Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri Merkez Birliği), Dr. Fahrettin Poyraz, General Manager of Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri, Özkan İnci, Regional Director of Kütahya, Burhanettin Topsakal, General Manager of Tareks, as well as kooperatif officials and project stakeholders in the region.
Above-average yields were achieved in the region.
Dr. Fahrettin Poyraz, General Manager of Turkey's Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri (Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri), stated during the program that they stand by farmers at every stage of agricultural production, from the field to the table. He said, "As Tarım Kredi, we provide all the inputs that producers need. We are making efforts to produce these inputs with our own resources to ensure the continuity of production, high yields, and to reduce external dependence. In recent years, as a result of the emphasis we have placed on R&D activities, we have developed special seed varieties for the region. With the support of TAGEM, we have started to see the results of our domestic hybrid corn seed project developed by our subsidiary TAREKS. One of our exemplary practic-es to improve quality and efficiency in this field was carried out in the corn fields of Beyazaltın Village in Eskişehir. Demonstrative hybrid corn seed planting was con-ducted on the field owned by Erdi Gül, a member of the Eskişehir Merkez Kooperatif affiliated with the Kütahya Regional Union. As a result of trial plantings with OSSK 625, TK Doruk, and Gerdano grain hybrid corn varieties suitable for the Kütahya and Eskişehir regions, higher results were obtained in terms of both yield and quality compared to Turkey and regional averages. A yield of 1,735 kilograms per hectare was obtained in the harvested field, while the regional average for this year was around 1,200 kilograms. With our own resources, we achieved high yields at a rea-sonable cost in the right areas. This is a very important result for Turkish agricul-ture."

Foreign dependency in agriculture will decrease
Emphasizing the strategic importance of agriculture, Poyraz said, “The importance of agriculture in terms of ensuring food security and nutrition of people in Turkey and the world is obvious. The importance of agriculture, especially domestic and sustain-able agriculture, has been further understood during the current pandemic process. The seed sector, which is the most basic input in plant production and an important link in the food chain, is an area we attach great importance to in this regard. As Tarım Kredi, we stand by our partners at every stage of agricultural production, and we prioritize projects that will reduce foreign dependency and increase productivity through our R&D activities. "By producing products suitable for these lands with local seeds in agriculture, we will increase productivity and reduce foreign dependency," he said.
20 percent of seed production, supply and sales come from Tarım Kredi
Noting that the seed trade volume in Turkey is approaching 1.5 billion dollars, Poyraz said, “Our country ranks first in the world seed trade. Certified seed production, which was 145 thousand tons in the early 2000s, reached 1 million 134 as of 2019, as a result of supports, investment incentives, the private sector's investment and emphasis on infrastructure and R&D studies, and the adoption of free market condi-tions in systems and practices in seed policies as a country reached 1,533 tons. For-eign trade volume in seed production has reached 332 million dollars, including 177 million dollars in imports and 155 million dollars in exports. Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri are also one of the important stakeholders in the seed industry, production and sup-ply chain. In 2019, approximately 20 percent of certified seed production and supply was carried out by Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri and its subsidiary TAREKS. "With the investments we have made, we aim to increase the production, storage, seed pro-cessing and packaging capacity to 40 thousand tons by the end of 2020," Poyraz said.

Türkiye will win
Stating that the products used from seed to harvest in the field where trial planting was carried out were produced by Tarım Kredi subsidiaries, Poyraz said, "The seeds are the seeds developed by TAREKS Tohum, the fertilizers are the products of GÜBRETAŞ, and the pesticides are the products of TARKİM."
Pointing out that 5 thousand 800 tons of corn were purchased from our producers for the first time in 2018 in the field of activity of Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri Kütahya Re-gional Union, Poyraz said, “In 2019, we switched to the contracted production model and purchased 15 thousand 500 tons. Again, in the 2020 production season, we started our purchases by planning contract production with our partners for the pro-duction of 30 thousand tons of corn. Our purchases continue with the harvest. It is a great benefit for Tarım Kredi to be in the market as a buyer for corn producers in the region with its contracted production model. With the contracted production model, our producers produce seeds, fertilizers, medicines, as well as technical support and, ultimately, without worrying about finding buyers for their products. "Our fertile lands will not remain empty, resources will be used in a planned manner, domestic oppor-tunities will be used in production and as a result, Turkey will win," he said.

If we achieve high efficiency, the farmer will earn more
Speaking at the event, Eskişehir Deputy Governor İsmail Soykan said: “During this pandemic, demand for many products in many sectors has come to a halt. But this food, food sector, livestock and agricultural production sector has not decreased at all, on the contrary, it has increased even more. We all saw together how important the work done here today really is. Quality seeds and high yield per acre are more important than anything else. If we achieve high yield per acre, the farmer will earn more and continue this business, and our country will gain as a result. That's why I would like to thank our General Manager of Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri, his entire or-ganization, Tareks Tohumculuk company officials, our Provincial Directorate of Agri-culture and our farmer Erdi Bey for pioneering such an issue. I hope that these stud-ies will continue to spread from now on. In this way, we will serve our country. "If everyone follows their own point of view, hopefully our country will become a devel-oped, prosperous and prosperous country with people." he recorded his words.
Eskişehir Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri partner Erdi Gül, who noted that farming was his father's profession, expressed his feelings with the following words: “We tested three different varieties in this field. 2020 has been a somewhat problematic year for both farmers and other professional groups. As in all Anatolia, a frost event occurred on May 23. Afterwards, our cooperative manager made recommendations about the fer-tilizers produced by Gübretaş to relieve the plant from the stress environment. We car-ried out our applications with the engineer friends he directed and tried to minimize our frost damage. We were able to water 6 times. "We are waiting for the result to-gether. I would like to thank those who contributed."