A Message from the Director​

Dear visitors, dear stakeholders,

Agriculture is one of humanity’s oldest pursuits, yet today it is one of the fastest-changing fields. Issues such as climate change, drought, yield loss, and global food security are now being felt in the fields and in the daily lives of our farmers. As the Advanced Agricultural Research, Application, and Research Center (İTUAM), we define our mission as follows: to take science out of the laboratory and bring it to the field, right alongside the producers.

We draw inspiration from the “Digital Technologies in Agriculture” specialization vision of Konya Food and Agriculture University, Turkey’s first thematic university in the fields of food and agriculture. We work across a broad spectrum—from sensors to AI-powered image processing, from biological pest control to biofertilizers, and from seed priming applications to water and fertilizer optimization. In all of these areas, we ask the same question: How can this knowledge make tomorrow better for a farmer in the Konya Plain?

We seek answers to this question in the field. We’ve met with our farmers from Seydişehir to Altınekin, and from Beyşehir to Cihanbeyli. At our “Science Café Farmer” gatherings, we sat down together at the same table and learned from one another. At the Hüyük Youth Camp, we worked with more than 1,800 young people from all corners of Turkey on entrepreneurship in agriculture and digital farming. These young people are the ones who will shape the future of agriculture. The curiosity in their eyes is our greatest motivation.

We do not limit our horizons to Anatolia alone. Through partnerships we’ve established with universities and research institutes in Kenya, Sudan, and Ghana, we’re working to transform Turkey’s agricultural R&D expertise into a contribution to global food security. The experience we’ve gained in arid and semi-arid conditions is also valuable for regions facing similar challenges.

For us, universities, industry, and producers are not three separate worlds; they are parts of the same ecosystem. That is why our doors are open to everyone.

For us, universities, industry, and producers are not three separate worlds; they are parts of the same ecosystem. That is why our doors are open to everyone: You may be an industry representative with an idea for a joint project, a producer seeking solutions in the field, a student eager to conduct research, or a colleague looking for collaboration. I invite you to get to know ITUAM and join us on this journey.

We continue to work to bring together knowledge from the land with science and return it to the land.

With love and respect,

Prof. Dr. Kıvanç BİLECEN
Director of İTUAM