For sustainable growth in agriculture, the importance of which is better understood in the world with the Covid-19 epidemic, local seed and seedling varieties that are compatible with the conditions of the country, providing high quality and yield are distributed to the producers.
Last year, 1 million 770 thousand seedlings and 440 kilograms of seeds were distributed in İzmir within the scope of the "Dissemination of Domestic and National Varieties Project" of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
In this project, which supports farmers, seedlings were distributed to urban women who had never been involved in agriculture before. Thus, it was ensured that they and their children, whom they grew seedlings in their homes, were introduced to agriculture.
This year, 1 million 400 thousand seedlings and 83 tons of bread wheat seeds will be distributed in İzmir.

Local varieties provide high quality and yield
İzmir Agriculture and Forestry Director Mustafa Özen told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is working for the fine growth of agriculture, whose importance has increased all over the world with the epidemic.
Drawing attention to the importance of quality and region-compatible seeds in production, Özen stated that the public perception of "being dependent on foreign origin seeds" is not accurate.
Stating that Turkey was a country that imported almost all kinds of seeds from Israel and various European countries 20-25 years ago, and the picture has changed today, Özen said, "We are now a country that exports seeds to all countries that we imported seeds from 25 years ago. "We have a domestic seed use rate of 80 percent in vegetables. We have a domestic seed use rate of over 60 percent in wheatgrass and legumes. We only have a small amount of local seed production in greens, which is just a matter of supply and demand."
Expressing that local and national varieties have been developed with many years of work, Özen said that they have been developed in a way that is adapted to the region and provides high yield and quality.
Explaining that they distributed 1 million 770 thousand tomato, pepper, cucumber and eggplant seedlings, and 440 kilograms of okra and melon seeds last year, Özen said that in addition to supporting rural producers, they introduced more than 20 thousand urban women to agriculture.
Özen underlined that they attach great importance to children's learning about agriculture in a country where agriculture has existed for a long time, and said that their children, who grow seedlings on the balcony and in the garden, together with the women, meet with agriculture, and that this is valuable for the healthy growth of agriculture.
Noting that they will work for the dissemination of local and national varieties this year, just like before, Özen said:
"We have realized 3 projects both for the continuity of plant production and for the dissemination of our domestic national varieties. Our Ministry provides the main financing for all 3 of our projects. Our main stakeholder in all three of them is the Aegean Agricultural Research Institute. This year, we will bring together 300 thousand seedlings on the balcony, on the terrace and in the garden, free of charge, with our producers and urban women. Afterwards, we will distribute our vegetable seedlings, consisting of 1 million and 100 thousand domestic and national varieties, to our producers in the countryside. We will popularize around 83 tons of wheat, consisting of three varieties, namely Efe, Meltem and Kayra, domestic and national varieties. We aim to grow 83 tons of bread wheat on an area of approximately 4 thousand decares. We will distribute it."

 "Non-genetically modified seeds and seedlings"
Aegean Agricultural Research Institute Director Ali Peksüslü said that the first aim of the institute is to collect the seeds of all seed plants in Turkey and transfer them to future generations.
Stating that they have been collecting seeds in the country for about 60 years and also carrying out variety development studies, Peksüslü said, "The time it takes for a variety to reach the farmer is about 6-7 years. Its characteristics are determined both by observation and in the laboratory. They are seeds and seedlings selected from collected materials that have not been genetically modified. We paid lots of attention to our seeds and behaved them like babies. And then we offer it to the use of the farmer.”

Source: Anadolu Ajansı