India is preparing for the announcement of two chickpea varieties developed in record time in four years by genome-supported plant breeding. In this first study of its kind, the genotypes in question are both drought tolerant and disease resistant. The varieties were developed in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Institute of India (IARI) and Raichur (Karnataka) University of Agricultural Sciences. Molecular methods and genomic innovations applied in breeding of these varieties seem to be an example for the development of environment and disease-resistant varieties with high yield and quality in legumes such as chickpeas and other self-pollinated plants.
The striking aspect of the study is that it is important to obtain drought tolerant varieties, which are very important for today, beyond cultivation development in a short time. In the reality of global warming that threatens the world, it is a very useful development that drought-resistant genotypes can be developed in such a short time. In fact, both classical and molecular breeding techniques are carried out in terms of drought resistance in plants. However, in the genetic mapping studies of chickpea, no gene has been identified. This time, researchers have turned to gene maps of other characters associated with drought resistance. First, gene maps of drought-related characters such as root depth and root volume were obtained in all chickpea genetic material available. ICC 4958 genes related to drought resistance determined by these studies were transferred to Pusa 372 local and most cultivated cultivars under molecular conditions and Pusa 10216 drought resistant varieties were developed. In many location and year trials, this new variety has yielded 12% more yield than the original.
Annigeri-1 variety, which is highly preferred in Karnataka province, was very sensitive to fusarium spp. disease. Gene transfer from a disease-resistant line (WR315) with above mentioned method has been obtained “Super Annigeri-1” which provides 7% higher yield than the original.
Traditionally, self-fertilized plants such as chickpeas can take 10-11 years to improve new varieties. In the face of the world’s population growth, increasing demand for food and the effects of global warming, the development of new varieties suitable for the purpose in a short time is a great success for world science. The importance of national and international cooperation of scientists in this success cannot be denied. Especially in our century, the global temperature is expected to increase by 2.5 – 4.3 ° C!
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), grown on low input marginal land, is an important legume planted on an area of 13.2 million hectares in the world and produces 11.62 million tons annually. Global chickpea demand is estimated to be 17 million tons in 2020.
Among the various abiotic (salinity, heat) stresses that affect chickpea production, drought stress, especially observed during blooming and grain filling period, is a major limiting factor for chickpea production and yield stability in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Drought causes significant yield losses of up to 50% per year in chickpeas. There is therefore a great need to develop drought tolerant-resistant high yielding chickpea varieties.
Chickpea, which is one of the indispensable foodstuffs for developing world consumer, is waiting just a scientific touch. By making use of the abovementioned molecular breeding, can be made major contributions to the nation’s economy with the new varieties to be obtained. The world consumer under the threat of global climate change expects it and deserves it.
Nazimi Açıkgöz
Note: This article has been summarized and translated from a Turkish link: https://nazimiacikgoz.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/bitki-islahinda-bir-rekor-dorduncu-yilda-yeni-cesit/”

A Swiss investment firm UBS estimates that the 4.6 billion dollars plant-based protein and meat market in 2018 will reach 85 billion dollars by 2030 . The same source adds that the plant-based milk market could reach 37.5 billion dollars for the 2025’s, while the improving health and welfare of society is the main driver of these increases (one billion consumers in the next decade will move to the middle class!).
On the other hand, in a report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), it discussed the expectation of the increase in agricultural production towards the 2050’s. The report mentioned the need to increase the amount of food we currently consume by 70 percent, while the increase is estimated to be around 80 percent for meat and 52 percent for grain. This means that today, 260 million tons of world meat production will have to be increased to 455 million tons in the 2050’s.
In the UBS report, while focusing on environment and animal health, more and more consumers prefer plant-based protein sources. Indeed, while the negative contribution of agriculture to the environment is expressed, animal husbandry comes to the fore. For example, 322 litres of water for one kilo of vegetables, 962 litres of water for one kilo of fruit, 4325 litres for one kilo of chicken meat, 8763 litres for one kilo of mutton and 8763 litres of water for one kilo of beef. In addition, one third of the grain produced in the world is for eating, that is, for animal feeding. In addition to water consumption, animal husbandry cannot be said to be innocent. It is not new information that substances such as pathogen, metal, drug – hormone residues mix into water. Another fact is that 80 percent of the antibiotics used in the USA are used in animal husbandry.
80 percent of the world’s agricultural land, meadow-pasture and vegetative production areas for eating are devoted to animal husbandry. According to various estimates, 6-32 percent of the greenhouse gas incidents are responsible for animal husbandry.
By 2013, scientists began to show that meat could now be obtained in laboratories. Not only that, the event was commercialized (University of Maastricht, Netherlands, Prof. Mark Post, (Mosa Meat)). In the US, companies established in this direction are supported commercially by food giants such as Memphis Meats, Cargill, Tyson Food, as well as well-known investors such as Bill Gates and Richard Bronson. It is a fact that EU companies like Nestle and Unilever will not miss this opportunity. The German PHW group has already started the acquisition of the new entrepreneur Israeli “Supermeat”. This business seems to tend to move beyond chicken and beef. FinlessFoods utilizes cell culture to artificially produce red tuna meat on land, which has reached its extinction point.
In fact, meat is mainly composed of muscle, fat and connective tissue cells. From the stem cell, meat formation begins when appropriate nutrients are provided for their development. This system, which is also monitored in the animal body, can be performed not only in the laboratory but also in larger environments. Thus, our meat will be healthier and safer without antibiotics, medicines. These artificial products seem to be able to find a place because of the above mentioned environmental disadvantages, their cheapness, their benefits to human health and their potential to protect the welfare of animals. Although the soybean is mainly provided by the plant nutrient medium, the yellow pea was found to be most suitable.
It may take time to fully launch. Although Memphis Meats calls “We are on the market in 2021”, it is a fact that many scientific problems are waiting for a solution.
Meanwhile, another US firm, Justforall, announced that it would be chicken-free chicken meat on the shelves by the end of 2018 .
The vegetarian menu offered by Impossible Burger is also interesting in nearly 1500 restaurants in the USA. As meat substitutes here, vegetable protein (soy) tissues provide flavour equivalent to meat, while color provides with leghemoglobin from soy roots. However, said plant hemoglobin is low in soy and will now be derived from a yeast species (Pichia pastoris) . Although these yeasts are genetically modified organisms, they are not subject to biotechnology regulations either in the United States or in the EU.
A chick could only be marketed in 112 days in the 1900’s, but this time was reduced to 45 days. I wonder what bioeconomics will offer us. Or will he? It seems that the economic dimension of the event is so important that the US Cattlemen’s Association has taken action to ban plant-based clean meat .
Nazimi Acıkgoz
Note: This blog has been translated from a Turkish paper http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/bitkisel-et-pazari-85-milyar-dolar/Blog/?BlogNo=610162.

According to the latest estimates, the average temperature is expected to increase by 1.3 C0 by 2050 and 1.2 – 3.7 C0 by 2100. In addition to the increase in temperature, drought also negatively affects agriculture. For example, in the drought, the plant cannot fully develop and ripens early, as a result the yield drops. Of course, the event does not end with this. Changing climate causes vital changes of diseases and harmful factors. It is known that pests have migrated 2,7 kilometers north each year since 1960. Disease factors and pests can extend their lifespan, even increase their reproductive rate, and create new genotypes. This will be a disaster for world agriculture. Because the new diseases and pest-resistant varieties in question have not been improved yet, and drugs to combat them have not yet been formulated!

On the other hand, by 2050, the amount of food we consume now, will have to be increased by 70%.
This increase is estimated to be around 80% for meat and 52% for grain. This means that today’s annual world meat production of 260 million tons will have to be increased to 455 million tons annually in the 2050s.

The negative impact of agriculture, especially livestock, on the environment is not to be underestimated. For example, 322 liters of water is consumed for one kilogram of vegetables, 962 liters of water for one kilogram of fruit, while 4325 liters for one kilo of chicken, 8763 liters for one kilo of mutton and 8763 liters for one kilo of beef. It should not be forgotten that one third of the grain produced in the world is used as animal feed. Another fact is that 80% of antibiotics used in the USA are used in animal husbandry.

We have to protect our land and water resources for sustainable agricultural production in the future. If we do not pay attention to the use of agricultural resources, we will face problems in terms of sustainable food production in the future. Due to antropogen environmental pollution, the scorecard of agriculture does not look very good. For example, 70% of world clean water consumption is used in food production.

With our todays agricultural production, we have to focus a little more on the “environment-food-health” triangle in the reality of millions of hungry, underfed, insufficient micronutrients and obese populations. Here we come across three objectives:
1) developing in agricultural production technology;
2) reduction in food losses and waste throughout the supply chain;
3) changing individuals’ food options and dietary patterns.

The issue of agricultural production providing maximum efficiency by minimizing the environment is encountered in many current publications .

Let’s try to examine the possible effects of individuals’ food options and dietary patterns on the protection of our land and water resources. It is a fact that eating habits play a major role in food consumption. The behavior of consumer groups such as vegan and vegetarian, especially in meat consumption, is known very well. Although meat stands out especially as a protein source, it is known that legume proteins from plant sources is almost equal to meat protein in terms of nutrition. In this case, let’s compare the resources required to produce one kilo of meat and one kilo of beans in the table below. It is immediately noticeable that the required production area, amount of water, fertilizer and chemical to be used, is almost ten times differing.

Land (m2) Water(m3) Fertilizer (gr) Chemical (gr)
Bean 3,8 2,5 39 2,2
Meat 52 20,2 360 17,2

When we convert the figures into protein, we see that 18 times more land, 10 times more water, 12 times more fertilizer and 10 times more chemicals are used to obtain one kg of meat protein.

The amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere for a kg production of some foods can be viewed on the chart. As can be seen from the graphic, when a kilo of beans is produced, one kg of CO2 is released into the atmosphere. This figure rises to two kg of CO2 for one kg of milk, to 5 kg of CO2 for one kg of chicken, to 10 kg of CO2 for one kg of cheese and to 27 kg of CO2 for one kg of beef

In general, it is known that those who follow a plant-based diet, namely vegetarians, are healthier. Their risk of getting many diseases is very low. Vegetarians are very unlikely to develop type 2 diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease and other non-communicable diseases. A well-planned vegetarian diet is sufficient for body development and growth. Meatless diets are suitable not only for prevention, but also for the therapy of many diseases.

It is estimated that, the vegetarian lifestyle can reduce the greenhouse gas level by an average of 35%, food production areas by an average of 42% and agricultural water use by an average of 28%. This fact has already initiated some practices to shift to a meat-free diet in societies that are environmentally conscious. The meatless menu application launched in the canteens and restaurants of UK universities already has reached to 44 universities .

On the other hand, it is observed with pleasure that a plant-based meat market has been opened and it is estimated that an amount of 85 billion dollars will be reached by 2030s .

It seems that the human being can be very successful in reducing the negative effects of climate change with only changing his eating habits.

Nazimi Acıkgöz
Note: This paper is a summary of a Turkish blog: http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/et-tuketimi-ve-kuresel-isinma/Blog/?BlogNo=617186

At the current monitoring stage of the corona virus, some may not grasp immediately its relationship with agriculture. When we ask “what will we eat tomorrow”, that food resources and farming come to our mind. We know that the rings in the food chain are always human focused: farming practices are carried out by human being. In case of any hitch of one of ring means, that the food chain breaks.

Now, let’s give a few examples of these ring deficiencies. In California, where fruit and vegetable farming are intense in the USA, sowing, planting, fertilizing, irrigation, pruning, spraying and harvesting are always carried on with temporary workers coming from Mexico. After the US consulate in Monterrey, Mexico, stopped the H2-A temporary worker visa process, the Agriculture Workforce Coalition wrote in its letter to Pompeo (US foreign minister): “The American people need a stable food supply to maintain healthy diets and strong immune systems, especially now during this national health crisis. The failure to take necessary action to protect our food supply will result in bare shelves in grocery store produce aisles, not from panic buying, but as the result of the federal government directly causing a shortage of critical labor.”

German strawberry and asparagus producers employing temporary migrant workers, despite their closed borders, are currently waiting the temporary workers coming from new EU member states. Germany has closed its border to temporarily agricultural workers from some countries including Bulgaria and Romania. In this case especially asparagus, strawberries and cucumbers harvest will be impacted. But more interesting: “you harvest what you have planted”. What will be the short and medium seasonal plantings in the future? Situations in Italy and Spain seem not to be very promising. State Aid, requested as grants and tax reduction to primary agricultural producers seems not to compensate farmers loses. And therefor they should also be supported for “due to not being able to reach to seasonal workers”.

In EU number of cross-border workers is 1,5 million. Let’s think alternatively, how will the jobs done without worker and how will the not jobless workers feed their families? “Many of them have jobs that are important for us all to get through the crisis,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said . And the EU released a list of “critical workers”. It says it must be allowed continued freedom of movement across its internal borders, despite emergency coronavirus measures including health workers, truck drivers carrying food and seasonal workers.

Turkey-Georgia border was closed after the outbreak of Corona. Thereupon, the tea producers on the Black Sea coasts immediately began to look for a solution to the workers’ problem. Because maintenance was about to start in tea plantations. Let’s have a look inside the country. Soon there will be plum and cherry harvests in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions. Will workers expected to come from outside the province for harvest come? How will they have transferred? In vegetable farming, seedling plantation is carried out in different locations. Seedlings should be planted on time. The grower cannot plant their field without these seedlings. Each step depends on the human being who is the target of the coronavirus. The planting of summer plants like corn and sunflower is about to begin.

Delivering food to consumers is another important problem. Actually, every stage in agriculture is a difficult situation during the virus crisis. It is not particularly easy for wholesalers and exporters. Many agricultural products have to be consumed fresh and you cannot keep them for a long time. Therefore, wholesalers and exporters must dispose of their goods within a specified time. What can you do when border has been closed before you shipped your goods. Trading such quick consumable goods during corona outbreak is a risky job.

When the virus first appeared in China, Russia closed the border and stopped importing agricultural products. At that time, there was an increase in Turkey’s exports to Russia of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially lemon, but this led to price increases in the domestic market.
Currently, all elements of the sector, from fields to greenhouses, from gardens to wholesalers and markets, are experiencing uncertainty. Although the Ministries of Agriculture are making decisions about the effects of the epidemic on agriculture, there may be a series of problems that fall under the responsibility of other bodies. For example, local organizations or NGO’s may be involved in the creation of local harvest teams, consisting of volunteers. And his could be a temporally solution in case of worker shortage. So, it would be appropriate to create a “VIRUS AND AGRICULTURE WORKING GROUP” included related NGO’s immediately. This board, where related bodies-disciplines are gathered together, can use the chance putting into action on time, without skipping any problems. Again, agricultural and coronavirus-oriented scientific advisory boards to be established within the Ministry will have a great benefit in overcoming this crisis.
Nazimi Acikgoz
Note: This paper is summarized from a Turkish blog: https://nazimiacikgoz.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/corona-virusunun-tarimsal-ekonomilere-etkileri-2/

The EU has rolled up its sleeves for new restrictions on pesticide use. It is aimed to reduce the use of pesticide by half as of 2030. Since Germen wheat producers apply fungicides more than twice a year to winter wheat (average treatment frequency 2019: 2.19), it can be easily predicted how pesticide use restrictions may cause a damage to wheat productions. Additionally, some of the fungicides commonly used today will probably lose their approvals in the next few years and there are no better new active ingredients in sight.

In European agriculture, fungicides used generally to prevent fungal diseases, like yellow rust, brown rust, septoria and fusarium. Genotypes that are tolerant or resistant to the mentioned diseases can also be developed by conventional plant breeding technique with 10-15 years of work. However, New Breeding Techniques (NBT) – genome editing methods can save considerable time for plant breeders . Since 2010, this process has begun to be carried out in laboratories by molecular basis, with genomic arrangements. In this method, genotypes can be registered in a short time and reach the producers. Genome editing includes a number of new gene engineering methods such as CRISPR/Cas9. In these procedures, there is no transfer of any gene from outside like there is in GMOs. On the contrary, new genotypes are created by silencing the targeted gene with the applied temporary DNA cutting enzymes, increasing and decreasing its effect. It is simply an artificial micro-mutation run in laboratories.

In Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), ie transgenic varieties, a gene has been transferred from another species or varieties. For registration of new genotypes as commercial variety, they have to pass many risk tests such as environment and health. Tests expenses cost to the company not less than 100 million dollars. Therefore, the GMO method has almost become synonymous with global multinational seed companies. On the contrary, the costs of developing genotype with NBT are at a level that can be covered even by low-budget new entrepreneurs, universities and public institutions.

The GMO method is not gaining admission in many countries such as the EU. NBT is also accepted in the same category despite its basic differences. While the gene in question here comes from a different species in the GMO’s, the modification in new breeding procedures takes place within the plant’s own genes. The advantages of the method enabled many new plant variety candidates developed in a short time to reach the registration stages.

The subject attracted the attention of the scientific world and number of projects on NBT were determined by scanning around 6000 publications to make an inventory of studies on this subject: China (599), ABD (487), Germany (88), Japan (25), France (25), Israel (24), U.Kingdom (21), S.Arabia (18), Holland (18). According to this research, China and the USA seem to be ahead of this issues with hundreds of studies. Although gene regulations are legally subject to the same legislation as GMOs, dozens of studies in EU countries are continuing.

The rapid spread in gene editing applications naturally comes to the fore in field crops planted in large areas with high economy. As a matter of fact, while paddy 29, corn 10, potato 6, wheat 6, soy 4 and rapeseed 4 take the first place. Research projects continue in many fruits and vegetables, including orange to fig, tomato to lettuce and even ornamental plants. Some of them have reached to final stage like seedless tomato in Japan; low fatty soy in the USA; herbicides resistant flax in Canada; low-gluten wheat in Spain; different color petunia in South Korea etc.

Recently Germany’s 60 plant breeder companies, both small and large, have come together to develop fungal disease tolerant-resistant wheat genotypes by using new breeding techniques and started the PILTON project in 2020. It can be easily understood that such a sophisticated breakthrough emerged from need. However, the coming together of these companies was due to their being gathered under the umbrella “Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e. V. ” (German Plant Breeders Association).

However, there is a big problem that occupies the minds of the project executives. The same treatment of new breeding techniques with genetically modified crops (GMOs) in the testing and registration processes at certain stages of breeding in the EU. In this case, millions of Euros will be required for testing candidate genotypes, such as GMOs. In this case, it is a fact that small-scale companies cannot afford these costs. As it is known, the varieties developed with NBT were tested and registered in many countries, especially in the USA, not within the scope of GMO, but according to the regulations applied in the variety candidates developed with classical breeding. So, what does PILTON project management say about this situation?
“We believe that we can achieve a clear and practical project with an interesting plant, with an interesting property and with real added value for the farmer, but also for society show that rethinking makes sense. So, we also want to work politically”.
Nazimi Acikgoz

Let’s consider blockchain technology as an application at the first stage. The technology in question makes use of artificial intelligence, image processing possibilities of a large number of data and a unique serial database technique. Readers may have heard of “bitcoin” system, which does not require a centralized management and where data is stored in many different networks. Blockchain, which does not allow editing in old data, is a digital registry that provides sequencing of transactions and provides encrypted transaction tracking, although it is unlike a known database. Therefore, it is a transparent and reliable system. The use of practices ranging from banking to insurance, from logistics to land transactions. Its agricultural use has not yet become widespread.
The satisfaction level of consumers with the product purchased has always been different. This difference becomes more prominent in the agricultural products that make up our food. Let’s try to make a default process chain sequence for the chicken bought from the market: the feed it eats without mentioning its genetics, vaccine, antibiotic application, slaughter age, some operations performed at the slaughter stage, details about the packaging, warehouse-related time, temperature, etc. Wouldn’t we want details of dozens of processes such as shelf life to be written on a label? Or how about reaching the said information with a QR scan? Many of us remember that in the years following the incidents of mixing horse meat with beef in the EU in 2015, dozens of products were taken off the shelves due to salmonella and echeriha coli. The knowledge of whether the weedkiller roundup (glyphosate-based) is used during the growing period of any plant has gained more importance after this herbicide was accepted as a carcinogen in the EU and its use was banned.
In short, consumers no longer rely on the origin of their food or its supply chain. Certificates are often suspect, supply chain members are unknown, frauds cannot be exposed, labels are not satisfactory and transparent. Therefore, many consumers prefer to choose locally grown products.
So how can we save the consumer from this chaos? By providing transparency in the procurement process of the products from the field to the market shelves! It is realized with BLOCKCHAIN technology.
We witness that a blockchain application launched in Turkey can be traced in the retail sector with agricultural products and all records, genealogy-registers. With this blockchain application, the company aimed to reduce costs and prevent food waste, which is very important for our society, while optimizing the supply chain. It can be expected that it will increase its competitive power with the product transparency it offers to its customers. With a last version of mobile application can be traced, all the processes of 750 fruits and vegetables passing from the field to the market shelves
It can be said that agriculture will also be the answer to the question in which sector will blockchain applications be used more. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry needed a labeling and consumer information regulation “… to determine the rules for the high level of protection of consumers in terms of information about food”. The feasibility of this with a physical label is questionable. However, with the blockchain application, the consumer will get the following advantages:
• How a food crop is grown, what kind of soil and fertilizer application is made for crops; information on which feed the animals are fed in which breeding environment can be accessed;
• It is easy to learn what changes the products have made in the processing phase and the storage conditions at all stopping points in the supply chain;
• Movement information on the State Register System and quality control records, if available, can be learned with absolute accuracy;
• The possibility of deactivating some intermediaries may cause a decrease in food costs,
• It will provide more confidence to food producers and suppliers, as malicious certification and labeling can be eliminated.
In summary, blockchain application can reduce food waste and food fraud, prevent mislabeling, disable fraudulent intermediaries and enable producers to get the money they deserve, only in the food chain.
Nazimi Açıkgöz
Note: This article is an extended version of a summary published at http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/tarimda-blockchain-kullanimi/Blog/?BlogNo=626740.

In agricultural production, the tractor is the farmer’s right hand. Starting from the field plowing, it has taken on the towing of the trailer and water tanker as well as enabling the operation of many tools such as cultivator, disc harrow, sprayer, bucket, fertilizer spreader, bale, mowing, mobile milking and silage machine. In addition to fertilizer, water, pesticide and seeds, diesel oil makes up 20% of the inputs and cost for agricultural production. Therefore, transition from diesel to electricity would provide a great economic benefit by reducing this high cost.
That is when Derindere Motorlu Araclar (DMA) , one of the world’s leading companies in the production of electric vehicles, entered the picture. The Istanbul-based firm develops and produces ‘model specific’ electric drive systems and exports its technology to China. Through their partnership CADMA with China, they started providing their services to Chinese firms, easing access to rare minerals required for battery construction.
The negotiations that started with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2017 led to the manufacturing of a prototype. Although the press releases made at the time were interpreted as political propaganda by many groups, the progress made has yielded positive results. Ziraat Venture Capital of Ziraat Bank assumed the financing of the operations; as a result first “ZY Teknoloji A.Ş.” then “ZY Elektrik Traktör Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.” and finally an electric tractor factory were established in Dilovası (Izmit). Of the three classes of tractors planned for production (65 hp, 105 hp and 320 hp), two of them (65 hp and 320 hp) are already prototyped. The release of the 320 hp class is expected to be June 2021 with 9 tractors already pre-sold to the General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises. By the end of 2021, around 200 large field tractors will be manufactured.
The mass manufacturing of 65 hp garden tractors and medium-sized field tractors, which can operate for 4-5 hours with 20 minutes of charging, will start early 2022.
The electric motor converts electrical energy into motion energy. In addition to its noise-free operation, it is stronger, more efficient and more economical. ZY electric tractors are expected to obtain a very high torque with the battery pack and drive system managed by software developed resulting in smooth operation under every circumastance. Maintenance and repair costs of electric motors are very low, saving up to 90% in energy costs. It can be charged wherever there is electrical energy.
The tractor is currently designed to be produced modularly. In other words, the farmer will be able to choose the power, the battery capacity and the size of the tractor he wants and have it assembled very quickly.
The firm, Derindere, has proven itself in this sector through its electric buses, trucks and motorcycles, and has solved the problem of storing wind and solar energy with the inverter it has developed. The firm can store energy in 1 megawatt hour containers in the watch-houses of the Ministry of National Defense.
In an interview , CEO of DMA Önder Yol stated that they obtained the engine parts they needed from select partners largest of which is the Hattat Hema Group that produces parts all over the world. Software, on the other hand, is 100% developed by 80-85 engineers in-house. Derindere is not reliant on any foreign country or institution.
It is critical to address technical issues in electric vehicles such as the supply of batteries, charging possibilities, duration and interval. Electric tractors will easily be recharged at charging stations across Turkey. The batteries of ZY electric tractors are designed for 4,000 uses when used every day which equates to ten years. Tractors will not need any chargers, and will be charged from anywhere within 8-10 hours at 220 volts and in 90 minutes at 380 volts. The firm claims that the charging duration can be reduced to 15 minutes with 1-2 megawatt-hour containers that can be deployed in village centers. This type of investment would make free charging of all tractors in the village very convenient for the producer. Under normal conditions, the garden tractor is expected to work 4-5 hours with 20 minutes charging, and the electricity cost is estimated to be between 1-1,5 €. If solar panels are installed and stored in batteries, even that fuel cost can be avoided.
The large field tractor is designed to operate for about 7-8 hours on one charge. In these tractors, which are planned to start mass production in June 2021, the toolbox and hydraulics will be operated directly with 800-volt dc pumps and the losses will be eliminated. The wheels and the PTO shaft would have 130 hand 160 horsepower respectively making the entire tractor 290 hp. At the same time, this tractor would be used for energy storage. Each tractor would have two 380 three-phase (22 kW) and 220-volt monophase (3.5 kW) outlets enabling many outside tasks with a single tractor.
According to company officials, smart-technology will enable the post-sales network. Through an established partnership with a GSM operator, each tractor will come with a chip ready to transmit data around the parts, the modular brain, the battery and power management systems to the main computer via GSM. The incoming data and signals will allow for rapid resolution of potential problems even before they occur.
The price of a high-power electric tractor is lower than that of an existing diesel-equivalent. However, when you consider the promise of incentives as well as the credit advantages (a partner Ziraat Bank – Bank of agriculture), the electric tractor stands out as a true blessing for the farmer.
Many global tractor companies around the world have R&D and innovation departments that have been working on electric tractors for many years. Although the manufacturer of Massey Ferguson and Fendt tractors has launched the electric and battery tractors, these have not been made available for sale. One reason might be commercial concerns; as companies seek a threshold value above hundreds of thousands for mass production in the automotive sector. Another might be the unresolved issues in battery technology.
The environmental impact of electric tractor use is another striking issue. This will be discussed as a separate topic in a later article.
The fact that Turkish farmers will be among the first to use the electric tractor, which is 95% less fuel-dependent and noise-less, is surely a source for pride for the Turkish automotive industry.
Nazimi Açıkgöz

According to the ”14. five-year plan” China plans to increase its research and development (R&D) spending by more than 7% per year. In fact, the increase in R&D expenditures from 0.7% of the annual gross national product (GNP) in 1995 to 2.2% in 2020 reveals China’s determination for development. Agriculture has always been one of the priority areas in all development plans. While the announcement of this last five-year plan, revitalization of the rural areas and modernization of agriculture were highlighted:

According to the mentioned plan:
• The quality of agricultural products and food security will be further improved and the increase in farmers’ incomes will exceed those of urban residents;
• Agricultural modernization will be provided where conditions permit;
• In order to reduce poverty, rural revitalization will be encouraged in these regions and the income gap in rural and urban areas will be tried to be zero by 2025, regular assistance will be continued for low-income rural residents;
• The protection, development and use of gene resources will be encouraged, the implementation of scientific and technological projects involving agricultural biotechnology in plant breeding will be accelerated;
• By 2025, efforts will be made to establish 500 demonstration zones where modern agriculture is practiced and for the sustainability of agricultural development;
• The mobile internet will be promoted and the use of remote sensing satellites in agriculture will be accelerated, smart agriculture will be developed, big data systems for agriculture and rural areas will be set up, the integration of new information technology with agricultural production will be encouraged and a comprehensive agricultural meteorological monitoring network will be created to improve climate disaster prevention;
• Agricultural products storage and cold chain logistics facilities will be built to accelerate the improvement of the country’s rural logistics system, encourage e-commerce, and help direct sales of agricultural products from original production locations.

The most prominent issue here is the decision to use agricultural biotechnology in plant breeding in the country. As it is known, in recent years, genetic modification (GMO) and new breeding techniques (NBT) (CRISPR, Talen) have been involved in the development of new varieties. Under the pressure of climate change and population growth, it is inevitable to develop new varieties as soon as possible. Reducing this process, which lasted between 10-20 years, to four years with new breeding techniques, is an unmissable opportunity for China. The EU places these NBT operations in the same category as GMOs and prohibits them. Of course, there may be problems in the foreign trade of products developed by this method. Here, China has demonstrated its commitment to this issue with the relevant development plan.

While the country-oriented state policies are constantly being implemented, China supports a world-renowned e-commerce company like Ali Baba, which most of us have heard of. Parallel to it, Pinduoduo, a large company engaged in agricultural product e-commerce, bought goods from 12 million farmers in 2020 and served 788 million consumers. Let’s try to summarize the garlic example of an application of such a company that can be a solution for the price gap from field to table, which is a big problem in our country, with the table below. At the top is the practice in normal trading. A kilo of garlic sold by the producer for 1 ₺ costs the consumer 8 ₺. In the bottom line of the table, according to the e-commerce data, the producer earns 30% more money than the product he sells for 1.3 ₺, while the consumer can reach food much cheaper.

TODAY /// the purchase price from the manufacturer: 1₺/kg /// Garlic Producer-Wholesaler, 1-3 intermediaries + greengrocer, /// Product to the consumer 8₺/kg;

e-COMMERCE///Purchase price from the manufacturer in e-commerce 1.3₺/kg /// e-commerce firm warehouses + Transfer to the consumer/// Product to the consumer 1.5₺/kg

It cannot be argued how beneficial such an application is for both the producer and the consumer. In some countries agricultural products are also served by e-commerce companies. Some supermarkets are working in this parallel and even that a company has started the blockchain application.

China, which has the world’s largest agricultural economy, undertakes one fourth of global food production alone. On the other hand, in terms of money, it is the second country in the world that imports the most agricultural products. After the commercial war with the USA, China has attempted to be self-sufficient in many products. With a surface area of 9.5 million square kilometers and a population of 1.3 billion, it has become the second largest economy in the world by increasing its GNP by 10% each year in the last 50 years. However, the agricultural sector, where 33% of the working population is employed, contributes only 10% to GNP. Therefore, China aims to increase agricultural productivity and consequently food production through structural reforms, institutional innovations, intensive R&D and agricultural investments.
Nazimi Acikgoz

No epidemic in the world has been as impactful in health, economic and social terms as Corona-19. Following the emergence of the virus, its isolation and gene mapping were achieved within a few weeks, thanks to genetic engineering and new molecular biological techniques. Developed with these unimaginable advances in science, the PCR test method has enabled Covid patients to be identified quickly. The need to develop a vaccine against the rapidly spreading disease has put great pressure on the society. Again, new molecular biological techniques stood out as the most promising method in this regard. But there was a timing problem here. Environmental impact assessments, which were part of this type of research would have taken a long time, posing a major problem. To address this problem, EU officials decided to remove environmental impact assessment tests as a requirement for drug development in July 2020 and to continue research by decommissioning environmental impact assessment tests.
As a result, four Covid 19 vaccines were developed with genetic modification towards the end of 2020 and put to worldwide application . In fact, in the last 20 years, 297 new drugs were registered with gene engineering method in Germany . Since its first registration in 1998 with the genetically modification, 22 insulin drugs have been registered. Due to the low cost of the system, the pharmaceutical industry has started to develop medicine for a variety of diseases from leukemia to meningitis, hepatitis B to ebola in addition to vitamins B2, B12, C with this method. In fact, the genetic modification was applied to animals to obtain some drugs, and their products were used as medicinal drugs: (1) the active ingredient of the thrombosis drug, the transgenic (genetically modified goat) to obtain “arthrin” and (2) the transgenic rabbit for the rare hereditary angioedema disease. Food preservatives and colorants such as ascorbic acid and riboflavin obtained from genetically modified microorganisms in many other categories have also been put on the market.
Gene transfer can be carried out not only in microorganisms but also in plants and animals. In 2003, the United Nations put into effect the Convention on Biological Diversity and Cartagena Biosafety Protocol to solve the problems caused by these new GMO products and transgenic animals in terms of human, animal and environmental health.
The implementation of this protocol differs by country. A number of countries are growing transgenic crops like corn, cotton, soybean and rapeseed etc. the production area of which reached 190 million hectares in 2019 which makes up 13% of the world’s cultivated area. On the other hand, EU and countries with strong trade relationships, such as Turkey, prohibit transgenic crops production. It is notable that the EU imports close to US$40 billion of corn and soybean a year from GMO-growing countries. Turkey’s soybean import is around US $ 4 billion annually. It is also very interesting that corn farmers of the two EU countries, Spain and Portugal, can benefit from the blessings of transgenics.
Growing transgenic varieties has agro-economic gains of approximately 30%. But developing new transgenic varieties costs hundreds of millions of US$. Therefore, such varieties are only developed and marketed by giant international seed companies. Most of the said amount is comprised of the cost of tests to assess health and environmental risks.
In recent years, a revolutionary biotechnological system has been developed that earned its inventors the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Gene editing made with the revolutionary CRISPR / Cas9 method can increase and decrease the effect of the gene by adjusting the bases in the gene with enzymes, and even silence the gene. This is actually a manmade micro mutation. It is critical to reduce the classical breeding period of 10-15 years required for the breeding of new plant variety to 4-5 years. The significance of shortening the production cycle for new varieties that are resistant to diseases-pests, climatic conditions and high performance cannot be overstated for the agricultural world.
Interestingly, many varieties have been developed outside the EU in a short time by gene editing, especially by small and medium-sized seed companies. And in this process, the registration procedures were carried out according to standard plant breeding principles, not transgenic legislation. However, the EU requires that gene regulations should be evaluated according to GMO product legislation involving health and environmental risk tests. This practice that seed companies oppose due to increased cost, would lead to EU farmers not being able to maintain their competitive advantage because they would not be able to benefit from the mentioned advantages of biotechnology.
Our hope is that the changes made in the biotechnology legislation used in the rapid development of the Covid vaccine would be applied to EU seed cultivation, which would in turn maximize our agriculture and food production potential.
Nazimi Acikgöz
Note: A summary of this article has been published under the title “Biotechnology and Covid Vaccine” at http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/biyoteknoloji-ve-kovid-asisi/Blog/?BlogNo=630411.

Searches such as the “NextGenerationEU” and the “Future of Europe Conference” led EU to develop new strategies for the 2050s, mainly on environment and economy.
In the first stage, titles such as “European green consensus”, “An economy in the service of the people”, “Europe for the digital age”, “Supporting the European way of life”, “A stronger Europe in the world”, “The new driving force for democracy in Europe” output fore.
The first of these, the “European green consensus” will be the focus of this article. The EU, which embraces sustainability in environmental and social issues the most, took this sensitivity one step further in October 2019 by formalizing the European Green Deal package.
For years, the EU GREEN Deal has been a set of policy initiatives, committing to take firm and ambitious steps in environmental and social sustainability issues, especially in the fight against climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, use of renewable energy. The targets legalized in 2019 consist of the following 7 policy areas: 1. clean energy, 2: sustainable industry, 3. construction, 4. from farm to fork, 5. pollution elimination, 6. sustainable mobility and 7. biodiversity.

The European Commission announced the details of “from field to fork” and “healthy and environmentally friendly food” subjects within the framework of “sustainable food systems” on 20 May 2020. With the transition to the new food system it will be possible to provide environmental, health and social benefits which will be effective and useful to recover from the COvid-19 crisis.
Here are the various aspects of food production and supply: 1. a neutral or positive environmental impact; 2. Access to adequate, nutritious and sustainable food and 3. the preservation of the affordability of food in a fair economic environment.
The following actions have been determined to make the agricultural sector more sustainable:
• Elimination of CO2 emissions;
• Improving energy efficiency;
• 50% reduction in the use of chemical pesticides by 2030;
• At least 20% reduction in fertilizer use by 2030;
• Measures for a more sustainable animal sector, animal welfare and phytosanitary
• 50% reduction in EU antimicrobial sales in farming and aquaculture by 2030;
• 25% in organic farming and a certain increase in organic aquaculture by 2030;
• Measures to increase the sustainability of fish and seafood production;
• Clarifying competition rules and monitoring unfair trade practices, etc.

Organic farming area in the EU increased from 8.3 million hectares in 2009 to 13.8 million hectares in 2019. This constitutes 8.5% of the total agricultural area used. Of course, the same increases were observed in the turnover and in the last ten years, it has reached €41 billion from €18 billion.
The emergence of organic agriculture is based on a logic that no one can deny. Organic agriculture, which was initiated due to the health and environmental problems caused by chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticide used in classical agriculture, unfortunately falls behind classical agriculture in terms of yield. As seen in the graph [1], organic wheat yield remains only 40% of the yield obtained in classical agriculture in some countries. The main reason for the low yield per unit area in organic agriculture compared to conventional agriculture is that genotypes and varieties that will provide maximum yield in a limited nutrient environment have not yet been developed.

It is certain that the organic products sector, which finds higher prices than conventional products, will have many problems. For this reason, certification bodies have to constantly prepare new standards. Many issues such as bio-labeling, pesticide-fertilizer residue monitoring and setting threshold values force the authorities to be vigilant. If import-export is also included in all of these, it becomes clear that the job will not be easy. As a matter of fact, the organic certified wheat imported by Italy from Romania, but not complying with the rules, and Germany’s organic certified 40 tons of strawberries are just a few examples that are reflected in the newspapers . Although organic farming offers some sustainability benefits, “fear-focused marketing campaigns” exaggerate the benefits and demonize acceptable alternatives .
In today’s world where EU countries are in 5 different economic groups in the fight against the pandemic and some of them have problems especially in accessing sufficient food, to what extent is the right move by supporting organic agriculture? It cannot be denied that organic products will only be consumed by high-income masses due to their high prices. In other words, the poor are “absent” in the organic product market. However, organic agriculture is supported by many countries, including Turkey. However, no difference is observed in terms of nutritional values in organic-classical products , and therefore organic supports has started to be questioned recently. As a matter of fact, the UK has stopped spending the funds in this category . I wonder, while supporting the organic market, which is not benefited by that poor population and only 4% of the population benefit from the organic market, “Does the EU support the rich instead of the poor?” Especially, according to 2019 data, 21.1% of the population is experiencing poverty and social exclusion in EU .
Nazimi Acikgoz
Note: This paper has been summarized from a blog: https://nazimiacikgoz.wordpress.com/2021/04/27/ab-organik-tarim-hedefini-genisletiyor/
Tags: Organic farming profits, organic farming support, covid-19 and organic farming, organic farming in the EU, EU pesticide directive, EU fertilizer directive