The Sunflower Harvest of "1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance" Begins

1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance Sunflower Harvest Underway Farmers producing under the 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance program have begun harvesting sunflowers. Özden Gümüş, who has been farming in Bandırma, Balıkesir for 22 years, said that thanks to the program, he has come to know his field better, and the yield he obtains from the soil increases every year. "Through 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance, I have participated in continuous training courses and acquired different knowledge on agricultural matters. Through digital soil analysis, I learned to use the correct fertilizer in the correct quantity, and this increased my yield. I also achieved 50 kg more yield per hectare," he said.

Gümüş, expressing his satisfaction with the initial yield from the harvest, which he expects to last approximately one month in his region, stated the following on the subject:

"Before becoming part of 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance, we did in the field whatever we saw our elders do. After agricultural engineers from the program visited my field, I learned proper fertilization and agricultural pest management. Digital soil analysis was a major advantage for me. They told me which nutrients the soil needed and in what quantities. This allowed me to start using the correct fertilizer in the correct amount. This both reduced my costs and increased my yield. I increased my yield by 40-50 kg per hectare in the products I produce. Through agricultural training, I learned different agricultural knowledge. I am in constant contact with agricultural engineers 24/7 and can ask any questions I want. I have seen great benefits from online training, and I get informed about innovations immediately. We have a WhatsApp group where, if farmer friends see a disease in their fields, they share it there, and we gain knowledge. When my yield increased, other farmers became curious and started asking about it. While producing sunflowers, through 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance, I realized what a valuable product canola is. Last year I started growing canola. Canola stalks are very rich in nitrogen. From now on, I will work to return these to the soil. I learned about keeping the environment clean and recycling through this program. For example, we used to immediately dispose of waste. But we saw that the evaluation of waste and sending it for recycling is very important. 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance is a wonderful program for the future of farmers and our country. I thank Cargill for being by the farmer's side."   Tanzer Bilgen, Member of TÜSİAD Food, Beverage and Agriculture Working Group and Founder Partner of Doktar, also said that whatever a farmer does on his soil has a consequence. Bilgen stated, "The way to increase yield in soil is through knowing the plant very well. This is possible with technology. Digital soil analyses, agricultural sensor stations, and field health monitoring from satellites are extremely critical. 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance is a very good example in this regard. The program integrates digital transformation into the way farmers conduct business, enabling them to use technology and science-based methods in their soil. Thus, they conduct agricultural applications such as fertilization, irrigation, and spraying using scientific methods. As a result, they obtain higher quality products from the soil and therefore increase their productivity. Turkey has 24 million hectares of agricultural land. Only 21-22 million hectares of this can be farmed. The value produced from these lands is approximately 50 billion US dollars. The spread of digital transformation in agriculture across Turkey could increase the added value of fields to approximately 65 billion US dollars in the medium term and above 100 billion US dollars in the long term. For the future of the farmer, society, our country, and on a larger scale the world, digital transformation in agriculture is extremely important," he said.

Cargill Food Turkey, Middle East, Africa and India Board Member Responsible for Corporate Relations Arzu Örsel wished farmers a bountiful harvest season. Noting that 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance continues in 14 provinces across Turkey with over 4,000 corn, sunflower and canola farmer producers, Örsel stated:

"1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance is a program entirely focused on social benefit with no commercial aspect. We embarked on this journey to increase farmer productivity and welfare and to support social and digital transformation in agriculture. We aimed to contribute to the protection of our soil and water through sustainable agriculture practices. The issue of digital transformation in agriculture is extremely critical. Through the program, farmers benefit from digital agriculture tools such as meteorology-irrigation and forecast stations and field health monitoring from satellites. We provide continuous and regular training and 24/7 advisory services. Over a thousand farmers join our program each year. Expert agricultural engineers continuously provide advisory services to our farmers. To date, we have conducted more than 3,300 digital soil analyses across an area equivalent to approximately 80,000 football fields, or 400,000 hectares. Through this, the farmer hears the voice of the soil better, understands its language better, and knows his field better. Thus, both their yields and their welfare increase. Our farmers achieved yields of up to 23 percent despite difficult climate conditions and drought last year. At the same time, according to the Social Return on Investment (SROI) report, every TRY 1 invested in the program generated social returns worth TRY 2.53 in 2019, TRY 2.78 in 2020, and TRY 3.03 in 2021. We are pleased that our work reflects on our farmers as increases in yield and welfare. As Cargill, we are aware that soil health fundamentally affects the future, sustainability and productivity of the food system. This year we have also begun work on monitoring greenhouse gas emissions in the field. We are conducting Carbon Footprint calculations in accordance with international standards. Subsequently, we will expand training, applications and individual work with our farmers to reduce Carbon Footprint. We hope that 1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance will guide those who take ownership of the future of food and inspire more farmers," she said.