Speaking at the "Good Morning with AGRO TV" program, TABİT Co-Founder and Vodafone Smart Village founder Tulin Akın said, "During the pandemic, we saw how important it is to produce and consume healthy food. For this reason, we have to strengthen agriculture together."

TABİT Co-Founder and Vodafone Smart Village founder Tülin Akın was the online guest of the "Good Morning with AGRO TV" program prepared and presented by AGRO TV News Manager Merve Ekinci, which was broadcast live on AGRO TV at 10:00 on Monday, September 14 (today). Akın said that the agricultural technologies applied in Vodafone Smart Village, which was established as a pilot region, were taken as an example and applied in Turkey and the world.

"Our aim is not to build villages but to teach agricultural technologies"

Noting that a similar village was established in Gercüş, Batman, Akın responded to Ekinci's question "Will you establish other villages?" by saying, "The purpose of the Smart Village is not to establish villages in the same style. It is to teach our farmers how to use agricultural technologies in agriculture and animal husbandry and how to obtain more products. We guide our farmers on these issues with the practices we carry out here. According to the results, our farmers turn to that method or try a different way. The weather and soil are different in every region of Turkey. The reason why we established this village here is that all crops except a few varieties can grow in this region. Thus, our farmers can learn the practices by seeing and following them here." Noting that the Vodafone Smart Village Project is taken as an example at home and abroad, Akın said, "We are currently working in Hatay. A similar village was established in Batman Gercüş. Each region needs to be evaluated separately, so a separate concept should be created. We provide volunteer or consultancy support."

"We Provide Information and Training to Everyone Who Wants"

Noting that work continued in Vodafone Smart Village during the pandemic period, Akın said, "We had a rapid adaptation period in the pandemic. Especially in families of born farmers, the meeting of agriculture with technology encouraged young people to agriculture and animal husbandry. We have observed that they have adapted to agriculture in the last 6 months. We have to adapt to agriculture for the future of our world. During the pandemic, we have seen how important it is to produce and consume healthy food. This is not only a farmer's problem; it is a problem for everyone who consumes food. Therefore, we have to strengthen agriculture together. Work should be done for family farmers and technology support should be provided for entrepreneurs. On the other hand, our farmers should also research how to grow which product, how to get more yield, research and learn agricultural technologies that make their work easier and reduce costs. This is how farmers can develop. This place is open to everyone who wants to learn and see. We provide information and training to everyone who comes. We have had trainings with large participation in the open field and in our conference hall, but due to the pandemic, we are not accepting large groups at the moment. We provide training to groups of up to 10 people, provided that masks are worn and social distance and hygiene rules are followed. We do this in the open field and in the field," he said.