Correct and Balanced Use of Fertilizer Project

To encourage the use of fertilizers, “Correct and Balanced Use of Fertilizer” project launched by Toros Agri with the support of Ministry of Agriculture in 2012. The project aims to demonstrate to the farmers in a tangible way the difference of yield between a field that the farmer fertilizes on his/her own discretion and another adjacent field fertilized in the most accurate composition. In this way, it is aimed to encourage farmers to adopt a correct and balanced use of fertilizers.

The project started with corn, cotton and sunflower in 2012 and followed with trials on wheat. In the production periods of 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 during which the project was conducted, trials were performed in 70 districts in total including 51 districts with wheat, 14 districts with corn, 4 districts with cotton, and 1 district with sunflower. The findings gathered by measuring the yield obtained, the food stuffs produced from soil, and some quality attributes were published as scientific papers and shared as presentations in the 6th and 7th National Plant Nutrition and Fertilization Congresses and the National Irrigation Congresses. The soil, plant and quality analysis regarding the completed tests are laid down in result reports and shared with scientific circles.

In addition, to share the results with farmers, the lives of three wheat producing families, who opened their fields for test applications, has been turned into a short documentary in 2013, under the title "The Story of Wheat". In the documentary, the journey of wheat from seed to the table was told in parallel with the life stories of the farmer families directly linked to wheat. "The Story of Wheat" has been broadcasted in many local channels throughout Turkey such as TRT, Köy TV, Bereket TV, Tarım Türk, Kon TV and Kayseri TV and reached a wide audience. Also the training meetings organized with the participation of hundreds of farmers and agricultural engineers during the “Field Days” were used as an effective channel for conveying the trial results to the sector.