A cooperation protocol was signed between TMO and Türksat in order to carry out the measurement, control and yield estimation of the cultivation areas of the products in the field of activity of TMO by means of satellite images. TMO General Manager Ahmet Güldal and Türksat General Manager Hasan Hüseyin Ertok attended the signing ceremony held at TMO General Directorate.
Türksat General Manager Ertok stated that satellite technologies do not only serve in the field of space, but are used to increase productivity in all sectors, and said: "Today, the world is struggling with the services provided via satellites. Satellite technologies are not only used in the broadcasting and defense sectors, as one might think, but also in many other areas such as education, health, water resources management, agriculture, communication and animal husbandry. The services offered as a result of technological developments in this field not only accelerate countless business processes, but also play an important role in understanding and mitigating risks. It also reduces costs and increases efficiency in the business lines it serves." Pointing out that the world population is expected to increase by 34 percent to 9.1 billion in 2050 according to the forecast of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Ertok emphasized that the need to produce enough food for the growing population has led to the introduction of methods that will make agricultural production more efficient every day. Ertok also underlined that with the expert-supported satellite service, yields are increased by at least 25 percent through uninterrupted monitoring of fields and harvests are made more efficient by minimizing inputs.
96 percent success in the pilot application
Stating that the cooperation previously increased productivity in agriculture, Ertok said that they used satellite images in a limited area where poppy was cultivated through foreign satellites as a pilot application in 2019. Stating that the pilot application in question achieved 96 percent success, Ertok said that they used satellite images of the domestic and national satellite GÖKTÜRK-1, whose commercial rights are in TÜRKSAT since 2020, and added, "Again, we achieved great success. This year, we started technical infrastructure studies with TMO to carry out measurement, control and yield estimation studies using remote sensing, geographic information technologies and software tools through satellite images in poppy cultivation areas. As a result of our negotiations with TMO, we have decided that measurement, control and yield estimation studies of other agricultural products within the field of activity of TMO can also be carried out through satellite images in order to increase the successful cooperation work that has been going on between our institutions for years. With this protocol, which we will sign today, all our agricultural products within the field of activity of TMO will now be able to be controlled through satellite images via Turksat with high accuracy, in a very short time and with very few personnel. From now on, agricultural production in our country will become more efficient and sustainable through our satellites."
"TMO plays the role of the Central Bank of agricultural markets"
TMO General Manager Güldal stated that they have been conducting the trial process of the program for the last 1-2 years and said, "We have been carrying out a good cooperation with Türksat, especially in the process leading to the planting, permitting, harvesting and then evaluation of the poppy product, which is the monopoly of TMO. If this process goes positively, we will sign a cooperation protocol to cover service procurement in further dimensions and products in all other fields." Stating that the aim of the protocol is to determine policies according to the measurements made, Güldal said, "TMO is an 84-year-old state institution that plays the role of the central bank of agricultural markets, especially grains and pulses, and strives to ensure balance and stability in the markets. Such a well-established institution needs to increase its accuracy in decisions by taking advantage of new developments and new technologies. In this sense, we have started a period in which we will use technology much more by using less human resources and much more technology, which we started with poppy and carried out efficiently."