The opening meeting of the "Precision Farming for a Greener Tomorrow: Advocating for Sustainable Agriculture" project, funded under the European Union's Green Deal Civil Society Action, was held on 18-19 January 2024 at the Akar International Hotel in Ankara.
The two-day project preparation meeting brought together a group of 20 participants, chiefly the project partners, the International Confederation of Agriculture and Food (TARIMKON), the Green Development Association (YKD) and the Greece-based VERDE – Center for Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development, together with representatives of the Chamber of Agriculture and the private sector.
The meeting opened with speeches by Hakan Yüksel on behalf of TARIMKON, Eleni Papargyri on behalf of VERDE and Mesut Karaağaç on behalf of YKD. In the first day's sessions, the project team was introduced and the project's framework, objectives and expected results were discussed in detail. After the partners' roles and responsibilities had been clarified, work was carried out on the project timeline and milestones.
On the second day of the meeting, communication, coordination and project monitoring mechanisms were discussed, and the commitment agreement between the partners was finalised. The day concluded with a visit to TARIMKON headquarters and the signing of the commitment agreements. In the closing session, upcoming project activities were reviewed and the next meeting was planned.
The 36-month project, to be implemented in the provinces of Ankara, Adana, İzmir, Sakarya and Şanlıurfa, aims to empower civil society organisations and farmers in sustainable and precision farming and to ensure their participation in policy-making processes. Establishing pilot farming sites, organising training on the use of drone technology in agriculture and informing 125 young farmers about innovative farming practices are among the key components of the project.
The project also aims to ensure farmers' participation in agricultural policy changes in Türkiye, to strengthen NGOs in terms of knowledge, skills, resources and networks, and to enable knowledge sharing and international networking through the digital platform to be established. The project, which will contribute to Türkiye's agricultural sector by scaling up sustainable farming practices and raising environmental awareness, will progress in line with the core objectives of the European Green Deal.
