THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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The mismatch between input costs and product prices in the agricultural sector has created challenges for both producers and consumers. While farmers struggle to make a profit, consumers face complaints due to steep price increases for food items. This disparity calls for a reevaluation of the practices within the Agri-Food value chain.
The Agri-Food value chain encompasses the various stages of food production, processing, distribution, sales, and consumption. Each stage plays a vital role in ensuring the sustainability, efficiency and accessibility of food. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy is required to strengthen every link in the chain.
Imbalances in agricultural production can lead to price fluctuations and food waste. Leveraging digital technologies and data analytics, it becomes possible to better plan production based on factors such as regional agricultural capacity, climate conditions, soil quality, and market demands. By utilizing public databases, smart contracts, and blockchain technology, the quantity and types of produce can be better predicted, ensuring more efficient resource utilization and price stability.
In terms of cost and speed, logistics is a critical stage within the Agri-Food value chain. Leveraging technological solutions such as effective stock management, route optimization, cold chain tracking, and real-time transport monitoring systems can reduce logistics costs and preserve the freshness of products. This enables food to reach consumers faster, with less loss and at a more affordable price.
Consumers now have a desire to know more about the products they purchase, including their origin, production conditions, sustainability certifications, and nutritional values. Traceability systems integrated with blockchain technology provide the necessary transparency, recording the journey of the product from farm to shelf. This information not only increases consumer trust and brand reliability but also helps eliminate counterfeit and low-quality products from the supply chain.
The efficient functioning of the Agri-Food value chain requires collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including producers, operators, retailers, public institutions, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and consumer representatives. Incentives through conscious public policies should be provided to support sustainable production and innovation. Additionally, investments in research and development, training programs, and technological transformation should be encouraged.
The Agri-Food value chain presents an opportunity to increase not just economic benefits but also social welfare. Supporting farmers, facilitating the entry of small-scale producers into the market, and reducing food waste contribute to both social justice and economic prosperity.
To ensure the full efficiency of the Agri-Food value chain, a holistic strategy that focuses on sustainability, transparency, digitalization, and cooperation is required. Emphasizing productivity in agriculture, optimizing logistics processes, strengthening food safety standards, enabling traceability, and prioritizing consumer demands will ultimately create an efficient and fair Agri-Food value chain in the long term…
By Professor Dr. Mehmet Pala,
Federation of Food and Drink Industry Associations of Türkiye (TGDF) Science Board Member
Source: www.tgdf.org.tr
