Opening Meeting of the Strip-Tillage Machine and Prototype Manufacturing Project

The opening meeting of the project titled “Strip Tillage Machine and Prototype Manufacturing”, numbered TAGEM-18/AR-GE/42, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), and jointly carried out by Özdöken Agricultural Machinery Inc. and the Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute, was held.

The meeting held at the Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute was attended by Konya Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Seyfettin Baydar, Director of the Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute Fatih Özdemir, Chairman of the Board of Özdöken Agricultural Machinery Mehmet Duman, Konya Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry Department Head Bilal Kale, members of the press and many invited guests.

“THIS MACHINE EXISTS IN THE WORLD BUT NOT IN TÜRKİYE”

The opening speech of the program was delivered by Mehmet Duman, Chairman of the Board of Özdöken Agricultural Machinery. Stating that they have been manufacturing agricultural machinery for 42 years, Duman said that their company produced the first direct seeding machine in Türkiye 15 years ago. He stated that they produced 80 percent of the direct seeding machines in Türkiye and export 25 percent of their production to 29 countries including New Zealand, Japan and Uruguay.

Duman said that the strip tillage machine exists in the world but not yet in Türkiye, and that it will be produced through cooperation with TAGEM and the Bahri Dağdaş Institute. He emphasized that the machine will cultivate the field more efficiently while consuming less fuel.

“OUR REQUEST FROM FARMERS IS NOT TO BUY IMPORTED MACHINES”

Fatih Özdemir, Director of the Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute, stated that the Strip Tillage Machine and Prototype Manufacturing Project will be implemented with TAGEM R&D support.

He said that they conducted field trials by dividing a field into two parts, where farmers cultivated one part using traditional methods while the other part was cultivated using the strip tillage machine. The results showed taller plants with no loss in yield. He added that soil preparation costs and fuel consumption were reduced by about 50 percent.

“SOIL EROSION WILL DECREASE”

Machine Engineer and Project Coordinator İsmail Yerlikaya stated that the project aims to design and produce a strip tillage machine prototype for row crops such as corn, sunflower, sugar beet and soybean. He explained that traditional soil preparation increases soil compaction, erosion and input costs, while the new machine will improve soil structure, reduce erosion and provide up to 60 percent energy savings.