SuperFresh’s Women Stars of Agriculture Project Expands Its Impact in Its 5th Year

SuperFresh’s Women Stars of Agriculture Project, launched in 2022 to support the economic and social empowerment of women farmers, continues to increase its impact in its fifth year. To date, more than 30 thousand tons of agricultural raw materials have been purchased from women farmers within the scope of the project, creating approximately 280 million TL of economic value. More than 5,500 women farmers have participated in the project, and the share of women producers within SuperFresh’s contracted producer network has risen from 5 percent to 30 percent.

Support for Women Farmers at Every Stage of Production

Launched by SuperFresh in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Women Stars of Agriculture Project aims to strengthen the position of women farmers in production through product purchase guarantees, financial support, seed and fertilizer support, 24/7 consultancy from agricultural engineers, training, and a solidarity network.

The project aims to support women producers not only during production periods but also in different areas ranging from access to information to economic planning. The model, which is developed every year in line with the needs of women farmers, brings together the topics of education, community, visibility, and economic empowerment.

Training and Solidarity Efforts Expanding

The Women Stars of Agriculture Project expanded in 2023 with communications efforts and new stakeholders, and in 2024 it broadened its scope with training focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, ecology, and artificial intelligence. Knowledge sharing and solidarity among women farmers were also strengthened through community networks. In 2025, the project’s scope of impact was expanded through initiatives such as a product launch and an internship program.

In 2026, training sessions and talks addressing various needs, particularly basic farming education, continued. The knowledge-sharing platform, which includes approximately 2,000 women, has turned into a solidarity space where producers can access experts and share their experiences. Training covering financial literacy, entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, and artificial intelligence applications, carried out in cooperation with TABİT, continued throughout the year.

Within the scope of the project, SuperFresh’s “Ege’den Hasat” peas, produced through the labor of women farmers, became one of the outputs of women’s labor extending from the field to the shelves. As a first in its category, the product was also featured on the menu of a Michelin-recommended restaurant and was cited as a visible example of a sustainable agricultural production approach.

The Women Stars of Agriculture Project has been honored with 30 awards to date on national and international platforms for its work in the fields of women’s empowerment, social benefit, and sustainability.

Social Impact Research Tracks the Project’s Transformation

SuperFresh conducts regular social impact research in cooperation with Ipsos Türkiye in order to measure the project’s impact and develop its efforts in line with needs in the field.

The research results reveal that, in addition to the project’s economic contribution, women producers have also experienced change in areas such as knowledge-based decision-making, economic independence, solidarity, self-confidence, participation in decision-making processes, and visibility. Among the notable transformations is the fact that, in addition to experience and intuition, knowledge, cost calculation, and planning are now given greater consideration in production decisions.

According to Ipsos’s assessment, the support that created satisfaction in the early stages of the project has, as of 2026, evolved into a structure that provides a more concrete and lasting assurance for women producers.

Mert Altınkılınç: “We See the Empowerment of Women Farmers as an Investment in the Future of Agriculture”

Yıldız Holding Food Group President and Besler CEO Mert Altınkılınç stated that the project is a concrete example of the approach of long-term producer cooperation and equal opportunity.

Altınkılınç noted that, in addition to Besler’s contracted production and purchase guarantee, support in financing, training, and agricultural engineering has contributed to women farmers being able to plan their production and develop their knowledge and competencies. Stating that they are pleased that the share of contracted women producers, which was 5 percent at the start of the project, has reached 30 percent, Altınkılınç noted that they will continue to develop the project in line with the needs and experiences of women farmers.

On the occasion of October 15 World Rural Women’s Day, Altınkılınç thanked all women farmers who add value to agriculture with their knowledge, experience, and production.

Gülizar Öcal Doğan: “The Experiences of Women Farmers Guide the Development of Our Project”

Besler Vice President Responsible for Marketing and Sustainability Gülizar Öcal Doğan emphasized that the Women Stars of Agriculture Project is developed in line with the needs and experiences of women farmers.

Doğan noted that, thanks to the training carried out in cooperation with TABİT and the knowledge sharing that continues throughout the year, women are supported in transferring the knowledge they acquire to their production processes, and stated that the training, ranging from financial literacy to sustainable agricultural practices, is shaped by feedback from the field. Doğan said that in the coming period they aim to increase the benefit provided by the project by strengthening training and solidarity among women producers.

Women Farmers Share the Project’s Impact

The experiences of women producers involved in the Women Stars of Agriculture Project indicate that, in addition to economic contribution, self-confidence, planning, and confidence in the future have also been strengthened.

Sebahat Çoban, who joined the project, states that while she previously worked as a laborer in the field, she is now the owner of her own business, and that the project has given her economic power as well as self-confidence.

Başak Süleymanoğlu says that the training has improved her communication skills and self-confidence, and that she can now consult agricultural teams more comfortably. She notes that, thanks to the knowledge she has gained, they are able to achieve a more efficient harvest using less fertilizer.

Elmas Öner emphasizes that knowing in advance, through contracted farming, the income she will earn and being confident that her product will be purchased makes production planning easier.

Raziye Akgül also states that the training has changed her perspective on soil and production, that she can now better monitor product quality, and that she can work in a more planned way by making use of technology.