ETi Burçak and WWF-Turkey Launch New Initiative
ETi Burçak and WWF-Turkey Launch New 'Soil Volunteers' Project
ETi Burçak and WWF-Turkey, who have been implementing projects for the sustainability and development of agriculture and wheat production in Turkey for 15 years, are now taking action to improve agricultural soils with their 'Soil Volunteers' project.
Since 2008, ETi Burçak and WWF-Turkey (World Wildlife Fund) have been collaborating to contribute to agricultural sustainability and have launched several significant projects in this field. Building on their 2020 "Healthy Soil Movement" project, ETi Burçak and WWF-Turkey are continuing with the new "Soil Volunteers" initiative. The project will start by visiting farms in Konya, Ankara, Eskişehir, Çorum, Yozgat, and Sivas provinces in the Central Anatolia region, where the "ETi Burçak & WWF-Turkey Soil Volunteers" will demonstrate soil conservation methods to farmers through practical application.
ETi Turkey CEO Ercan Öz and WWF-Turkey General Manager Ömür Kula, who announced the new phase of their collaboration and their upcoming activities, shared these details with the press at a meeting attended by ETi Burçak's new brand ambassador, Kıvanç Kasabalı.
Ercan Öz emphasized that their aim with the collaboration with WWF-Turkey is to contribute to the protection and improvement of agricultural soils without compromising productivity and to raise awareness in the community about this issue.
"Our 'Soil Volunteers' will provide farmers with new perspectives"
Ercan Öz highlighted their 15-year partnership with WWF-Turkey and the awareness-raising activities they have conducted on maintaining soil productivity. He said, “Through protective farming practices in Eskişehir’s Çifteler district, we have contributed to saving 85% on fuel and 70% on labor costs while maintaining soil health. With 'Soil Volunteers,' we aim to convey the effects of restorative agriculture on soil health to farmers. This year, we have conducted visits to farmers practicing restorative agriculture in Eskişehir, Şanlıurfa, Aydın, and Tekirdağ, and facilitated experience sharing with 100 agricultural engineering students. In the upcoming Toprak Camp, which will last three days, 20 agricultural engineering students will receive theoretical and practical training on restorative agriculture from experts. Upon completion, these young people will become 'ETi Burçak Soil Volunteers' and will demonstrate what they have learned to farmers in the field.”
Öz also drew attention to an important activity this year, the rain simulation, which is planned for October. He stated, “To demonstrate the effects of restorative agriculture on soil health, we will use a mobile unit to present the rain simulation in Konya, Ankara, Eskişehir, Çorum, Yozgat, and Sivas. We selected these locations based on the wheat production intensity from our previously published 'Past, Present, and Future of Agricultural Lands in Turkey Report.'”
WWF-Turkey General Manager Ömür Kula remarked, “One of the main threats to natural resources today is how we produce our food. Agricultural land use has destructive effects on our water, forests, air, seas, and biodiversity. On the other hand, agricultural production processes not only pose significant threats to nature conservation but also hold the key to solutions. Since September 2020, we have been continuing the 'Healthy Soil Movement' project in collaboration with ETi Burçak to determine the necessary methods for soil protection in wheat-producing areas in Turkey and to compile and disseminate region-specific methods that improve soil quality.”
Brand ambassador Kıvanç Kasabalı added, “The project will allow farmers to increase their productivity, which is very important. We need to stop misusing our natural resources, especially our agricultural soils. From the programs I have been involved in and from what I have learned from farmers and villagers, one thing is clear: the soil always responds favorably to those who treat it well.”
