ANKARA (AA) - MUSTAFA ÇALKAYA - Within the scope of R&D studies by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 118.6 million TL support was paid to 477 projects developed in various fields of the agricultural sector, from crop production to animal husbandry, from fisheries to fertilizers, since 2007.

According to the information obtained by the AA correspondent, 2 thousand 235 project proposals have been received since 2007, when the R&D Support Program started.

The upper limit of the support given to the projects was determined as 3 million TL. Of the proposed projects, 477 were included in the scope of support. Of these, 403 have been concluded, 74 are in progress. Since the start of the R&D Support Program by the Ministry, a support payment of 118.6 million TL has been made for the projects covered.

In this process, 27 R&D and Innovation Centers were put into operation within the Ministry. 11 more centers are planned to be operational in the next two years.

Innovations Brought to the Sector Through R&D Activities

With the improvement studies carried out within the framework of horticultural research in herbal production, a total of 989 varieties, 564 of which are fruit, 144 are vineyards, 281 are vegetables and ornamental plants, have been registered and offered to the use of the sector by research institutes so far.

Within the scope of field crops research, in research institutes by using public resources; 322 cool climate cereals, 78 meadow-pasture and fodder plants, 132 summer growing cereals, 256 industrial plants, 94 edible legumes and 29 medicinal and aromatic plants were developed. As a result, a total of 911 varieties were registered as one hundred percent domestic. Tobacco leaves harvested with the developed plastic-covered high tunnel drying method were started to be dried in a shorter time, reaching higher expertise and chemical quality values. In addition, for the first time in Türkiye, fiber stripping machines were made from flax, hemp, and nettle stalks.

In animal production, an increase of 18 kilograms was achieved in live weights with the Buffalo Breeding Project. Domestic sheep and goat breeds were taken under protection and different ram-goat additions were prevented and pure breeding of breeds was ensured. An average of 10.6 percent increase was calculated in the vitality of lambs and goats in the enterprises involved in the relevant projects. Breeding lines of two brown layers, ATAK and ATAK-S, and two white layers, ATABEY and AKBAY, were developed in broiler laying. In addition, 6 marine monitoring systems in the Black Sea and Marmara were established within the scope of EU IPA-2 with the Stock Assessment Practices in Fisheries Activities (IFISH) Project. In addition to the Azotek-1, Azotek-2 and Azotek-3 microbial fertilizers specific to chickpeas, lentils, vetch and peas within the framework of fertilizer research, registration certificate was also obtained for Azotec-Bean fertilizer this year. In soil management, 7 project studies are continuing, investigating the effects of the use of wastes such as olive black water, biogas fermented waste, wood vinegar in agriculture and their recycling to the soil.

"As the Ministry, we produce 70 percent of R&D solutions"

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirişci stated that they have great goals in R&D studies and said:

"I could proudly say that we, as the Ministry, produce 70% of the innovative solutions and R&D solutions in the field of agriculture and food in our country. In this respect, we contribute 4.2 billion liras directly to our economy and 50 billion liras indirectly. We also work with other public institutions that have R&D capability or need R&D."

Source: Anadolu Ajansı