GÜBRETAŞ Launches University-Industry Collaboration Initiative

GÜBRETAŞ Signs University-Industry Cooperation Protocol A protocol was signed between GÜBRETAŞ and İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (İZÜ) to establish university-private sector cooperation in the field of research and development. GÜBRETAŞ continues its efforts to ensure agricultural sustainability in Turkey and increase efficiency and quality in agricultural production. In addition to its activities to promote conscious farming practices among producers to increase efficiency and quality, the company stands out for its R&D investments aimed at changing fertiliser usage habits in the sector and developing next-generation plant nutrition products. In recent years, it has been strengthening industrial-university collaborations. Having signed protocol agreements with Gebze Technical University in 2019 and Yıldız Technical University in 2020, GÜBRETAŞ has now established cooperation with Sabahattin Zaim University. At the Cooperation Protocol signing ceremony held on the university campus with the participation of GÜBRETAŞ Board Chairman Fahrettin Poyraz, General Director İbrahim Yumaklı and Sabahattin Zaim University Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bulut, it was stated that joint projects will be carried out within the scope of university-industry cooperation in the field of agricultural research and development. Speaking at the signing ceremony, GÜBRETAŞ Board Chairman Dr. Fahrettin Poyraz said the following on the matter: "World population is expected to exceed 9 billion in the next 30 years, yet the area where agricultural production can be carried out in the world is very limited. To ensure global food security and end hunger, agricultural production needs to be increased by 50 to 70 percent. In addition to the insufficiency of arable land area, agricultural areas are also declining with population growth. Along with these factors, another major problem awaiting a solution is the climate crisis facing agricultural production." he said. Pointing out that agricultural sustainability and R&D work are vital, Poyraz continued: "Particularly in our country, we are planning to breathe new life into the fertiliser sector, which depends on imports for raw materials, through new-generation domestic and national fertiliser work. In this context, we are making efforts to strengthen our product development-focused cooperation with both our universities and public institutions in agricultural production. We aim to change fertiliser usage habits in the sector through new-generation domestic and national products to be developed. For many years, GÜBRETAŞ has been conducting joint work with producers to ensure proper and effective use of fertilisers and raising awareness. We continuously emphasise that fertilisation should be carried out correctly using the right methods for the future of our soils. Moreover, through R&D work, we aim to minimise raw material imports in the sector with new-generation domestic and national products we will develop. The effectiveness of the products used by our producers will be increased and these innovative plant nutrition approaches will result in increases in yield and quality." he said. Poyraz added: "GÜBRETAŞ continues its responsibility shown at every stage from the supply of plant nutrition products to reaching farmers in our country through R&D work conducted with our universities. Today, we are taking another important step for university-industry cooperation. I wish this cooperation will bring benefits to academia and the sector." he said. Pointing to Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University's direction towards becoming a research university, Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bulut stated: "We are structuring our infrastructure and intellectual capital accordingly. In this context, we attach great importance to cooperation with industry and provide valuable contributions to each other. This protocol we have signed will also be a positive step. We believe that universities and research institutions need to take greater responsibility to ensure that our country's citizens can eat healthily, correctly, consciously and qualitatively, while also being economical. If we can establish a healthy and correct relationship with the soil, the success we achieve for the future of agriculture will increase. Through this cooperation, I believe we will create a strong synergy with GÜBRETAŞ, a distinguished institution that has served our country's agriculture for many years, and that the R&D work we will conduct will contribute to our country's agricultural development, building a better future together and national agricultural policy. The signing of this cooperation protocol in the building of the historical Halkalı School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, which was founded by the second Abdülhamit and where our country's first modern agricultural work was carried out, is also a nice coincidence." he said. GÜBRETAŞ General Director İbrahim Yumaklı, expressing that the institution reflects GÜBRETAŞ's experience in plant nutrition in its R&D vision, said: "In this sense, we are pleased to be in cooperation with Sabahattin Zaim University. R&D work conducted in the field of plant nutrition is a very critical threshold for agricultural sustainability and ensuring food security. Both GÜBRETAŞ R&D Centre and the valuable academics of Sabahattin Zaim University work with this consciousness in R&D activities. The cooperation protocol we signed with Sabahattin Zaim University will add value to our agricultural production. With the university's rich academic staff and the experience of our academics, we believe we will take agricultural R&D work into a stronger future." he said. Noting that they signed a ten-year cooperation protocol with Gebze Technical University in 2019, Yumaklı said: "In as short a period as two years, this cooperation has begun to yield results. In 2020, we established an R&D Greenhouse within the university to provide infrastructure for the development of domestic and national biotechnology-based plant nutrition products. That same year, work began on the 2244 Industrial Doctorate Project approved by TÜBİTAK. At the same time, our TÜBİTAK TEYDEB 1505 project work within the framework of the protocol signed with Yıldız Technical University continues." he said. Stating that they will carry out beneficial work that will contribute to agricultural production through the cooperation protocol signed with Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Yumaklı also noted: "Moreover, as Mr. Bulut also stated, it is valuable for us to sign this important cooperation in the building of the historical Halkalı School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, where our country's first modern agricultural work was carried out."