Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci met with the officials and counterparts of international organizations in Indonesia for the G20 Summit Agriculture Ministers Meeting and made a speech at a session within the scope of the meeting.
Within the scope of his contacts, Mr. Kirişci first met with Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, cooperation opportunities between the two countries on the export of milk and dairy products were discussed.
Mr. Kirişci later met with the EU Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski and the accompanying delegation. He conveyed a message of furthering relations and joint work between the EU and Türkiye in the field of agriculture.
Kirişci, who also met with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, stated that they attached importance to innovation and digitalization in agriculture both in terms of increasing production capacity and food security. Kirişci stated to be ready for future cooperation in that regard.
Kirişci finally met with Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Mr. Veng Sakhon. Kirişci noted that he would visit Cambodia on October 19-20 for the 3rd tour of Türkiye-Cambodia Joint Economic Commission.
"SMART AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS WILL POSITIVELY AFFECT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR"
At the 2022 G20 Meeting of Agriculture Ministers, attended by 34 representatives from G20 members, invited countries and international organizations, the Minister Mr. Kirişci gave a speech in the 3rd session themed "Innovative agricultural initiative through digital agriculture to improve the livelihoods of farmers in rural areas".
Kirişci pointed out the importance of digitalization and innovation in agriculture, and stated that increasing world population and climate changes required more professional approach in agriculture.
Stating that traditional farming methods were no longer sufficient, Mr. Kirişci said that countries should focus on increasing productivity and reducing costs by using modern techniques.
Noting that rural poverty and the absence of financial and social incentives continue to be one of the most important obstacles to that transformation, Kirişci continued as follows:
"Approximately 3.4 billion people live in rural areas of developing countries. Most of them earn their income from small family farms. Innovative technology applications and digital transformation and knowledge transfer to farmers in rural areas can play an important role in increasing the efficiency and sustainability of food systems. It is very important for small farmers to reach the necessary data through technological tools such as mobile phones and televisions. In addition, smart agricultural systems such as remote sensing, geographic information systems and digital sensors will have positive effects on the transformation of the agricultural sector."
DIGITAL AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS OF TÜRKİYE
Noting that effective use of resources in soil preparation, planting, irrigation and harvesting were the main components of digital agriculture, Kirişci said that they had necessary infrastructure for analysing satellite images, product validation, data compilation and processing for the effective use of meteorological information, which was becoming increasingly important at every stage of production.
In addition, Kirişci emphasized that they used early warning systems for monitoring climate change, soil analysis, technological training, product and input prices, and gave the following information about their work in this field:
"In line with our needs in the agricultural sector, our Ministry is trying to benefit from the rapidly transforming technological and digital process. Therefore, we launched the Digital Agriculture Market project to integrate small farmers into the global value chain. The project includes a web-based digital platform specifically to shorten the supply chain. A comprehensive National E- "We also prepared a comprehensive National Electronic Agriculture Strategy. This Strategy aims to analyse the current situation of digitalization and to support the research infrastructure of enterprises. In parallel with these developments, nearly 140 agricultural public services can be performed on the E-Agriculture portal without going anywhere, via computers and mobile phones."
"CEBİMDE TARIM (AGRICULTURE IN MY POCKET)" APPLICATION WILL BE IMPLEMENTED
Kirişci announced that they were planning to integrate the farmer registration system with the e-government system and to implement the mobile application "Cebimde Tarım" within the scope of digitalization.
Indicating that they had started a new project with the World Bank, Kirişci said they would support climate-friendly approaches in agriculture with the "Türkiye Smart Climate and Competitive Agricultural Growth Project".
Expressing that the project would support the transition of the agri-food sector to a more climate-friendly direction, Kirişci concluded his words as follows:
"We also carry out R&D activities to determine the effects of climate change on agriculture by developing strategies for measuring, monitoring and reducing greenhouse gases. We have also announced the 2021-2023 National Rural Development Strategy to improve the working and living conditions of the rural population. Since this platform represents the major economies of the world, I believe that the decisions taken by the G20 countries will make a difference at the global level. A sustainable future in agriculture is possible with digital agriculture."
