The “Local Sunflower Seed Supportive Social Responsibility Project” was initiated with the cooperation of the Savola Food and Seed Association and the technical support of the Thrace Agricultural Research Institute Directorate.
With the project, it is aimed to develop domestic sunflower seeds in Turkey and to obtain high quality domestic varieties that will enable them to have a say in the world market in terms of yield and quality.
Within the scope of the project, the sunflowers that were planted in the Muratlı district were harvested.
In his speech at the harvest ceremony, Savola Gıda Turkey General Manager Houmer Balazadeh said that within the scope of the project, technical application support will be provided to the producers with training and extension studies.
Balazadeh stated that they attach importance to domestic sunflower seeds and continued as follows:
“With the project, more domestic sunflowers will now be produced. We are also very excited about this project. We have come to an important point in our project today and we will make our first harvest today. We look forward to the results. With the project, we aim for Turkey to have a say in the domestic sunflower seeds in the world as well. I hope this will happen.” We will succeed together. Within the scope of the project, our farmers will be given training and technical applications. This project is a long-term project. Our goal is to increase local seeds and local production.”
Seed Association President Musa Kaya said that they believe that everything is hidden in nature within the framework of support for sustainable natural resource management.
Emphasizing that being a better agricultural country is hidden in the seed, Kaya said, “We came together with Savola Gıda and started the project. Our aim with the project is to develop sunflower seeds, which are insufficient in our country, and to obtain high quality domestic varieties in terms of yield and quality. With the harvest to be made, the products will be evaluated and the results will be evaluated. We plan to realize this project, the first of which we did in Tekirdağ, next year in Konya and then in Adana.” said.
Ayşegül Selışık, Deputy Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of Turkey, stated that their aim as an organization is to ensure global food security and sustainable development.
Stating that they are working to reduce the effects of climate change, which is a global problem, Selışık said, “This year, sunflower may not have been affected much by climate change, but Konya has. teaching and collaborating with them. That’s why the private sector’s effort, as in today’s project, is very good.” he said.
Tahir Büyükhelvacıgil, Chairman of the Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association, also pointed out that the world is facing the problem of global warming and climate change.
Büyükhelvacıgil drew attention to the importance of agriculture for Turkey and said:
“We need to make the best use of our agricultural lands. Sunflower oil is one of the basic foodstuffs that we should all have in our kitchen. 85 percent of our people prefer to consume sunflower oil in their kitchen. Sunflower meal is also important for livestock producers. Unfortunately, oil seeds and their derivatives are our import items. ranks in the top 10.
As a country, we are unfortunately dependent on foreign countries at a rate of 75 percent in oilseed derivatives. For this reason, we should increase supports by making strategic planning in agriculture and sunflower and produce sustainable agricultural policies by considering climate changes. This requires the cooperation of the state-private sector and the efforts of our farmers. We all strive to reduce our country’s dependence on foreign sources. Savola Gıda is implementing a project that supports local seeds and sets an example for everyone. With the project, domestic sunflower seeds will be developed, yield will be increased, farmers will be trained, and the modern production model will come to the fore.
Thrace Agricultural Research Institute Director Assoc. Dr. Adnan Tülek and Chairman of the Board of Thrace Seeds Association İbrahim Toruk also gave speeches at the ceremony.
After the speeches, the sunflower was harvested.
While the farmers had the opportunity to examine the products in the field, the women also extracted seeds with traditional methods in the activity area.
