b'SEEDING TRKIYES FUTUREHOW TRKTED IS DRIVING INNOVATION, OVERCOMING CHALLENGES, AND STRENGTHENING TRKIYES POSITION IN THE GLOBAL SEED MARKET.BY: BURAK GNEN, PRESIDENT OF TRKTEDT he main crops in the Turkish seedulations and formulation of seed policies. sector include cereals, particularlyWe act as a bridge between our members wheat and barley, as well as industrialand the ministry and partners, including crops such as cotton, maize, sunflower, andinternational organisations. We would like potatoes, along with various vegetables.to see the Turkish seed sector as a leading There are over 1.000 seed companies in thesector in our region and well represented country which can be roughly divided intoat the international level with increased three types: international, national and jointcooperation and seed trade with other seed ventures. The total arable area is around 23sectors.million hectares with 7 million hectares ofOur association works closely with wheat and 1,5 million hectares of barley.the ministry in solving the problems of our members. We inform our members regu-GROWTH AND CHALLENGESlarly about the developments in the area of FOR THE TURKISH SEED SECTOR seed and plant breeding. TRKTED pub-The Turkish seed sector has been growinglishes a magazine called TOHUM, which steadily. For example, if we look at the totalmeans seed in Turkish, twice a year and amount of certified seed produced, in 2002,distributed to all members and players in the amount was 142.000 tonnes, which hasBurak Gnen, President of TRKTED the sector, free of charge. grown to just over 1.3 million tonnes in recent years.MAJOR SUCCESSESIn terms of challenges, we can men- Trkiye changed its seed policies in 1984, tion the availability of sound financial sup- that the use of CRISPR-CAS is about toallowing the free formation of seed prices port, not enough R&D in some species,increase. in the market and allowing international especially on some vegetable diseases orMost of the farms in Trkiye are smallseed trade. These two major policy changes on tolerance to some challenging climaticwith the average farm size of around fivehave opened the way to establish private conditions e.g. cold and drought. hectares, therefore most of the farmers useseed companies and TRKTED was On the other hand, the Turkish seedfarm saved seeds within the limits allowed.founded in 1985 by these private compa-sector has some very important advantages.nies. Since then, TRKTED has played Trkiyes climate is suitable and favourableTHE ASSOCIATION TRKTEDan important role in every cornerstone of for certified seed production of all species,TRKTED is a non-profit, independentseed sector developments, such as member-especially hybrid maize, hybrid sunflowerassociation and membership is voluntary.ships to ISF, Euroseeds, the Asia Pacific and cotton. It has a very well trained andIt was established in 1985, celebrating itsSeed Association (APSA), International experienced technical staff, and geograph- 40th anniversary this year. The structureSeed Testing Association (ISTA) and the ically and logistically it is possible to reachof the association is very similar to theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation 40% of the seed markets in the world withInternational Seed Federation (ISF), withand Development (OECD). The associ-a four-hour flight. a management board, a general secretariatation was also instrumental in the imple-The focus of the Turkish seed sectorand working groups. There is a Secretary- mentation of the UPOV 1991 Convention is on increasing the R&D capacity of theGeneral and his assistants. There are 51and accreditation of ISTA seed testing and private sector, more investment in the seedvoluntary members that are responsibleOECD variety registration and seed cer-sector, using new techniques, and informingfor approximately 75% of the total amounttification schemes. But also, in the imple-the public better about the seed sector. of certified seed produced and more thanmentation of seed support schemes, and the 80% of the seed export from Trkiye. Thepreparation and implementation of Seed BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FARMassociation represents all crops, includinglaw 5553 etc. SAVED SEED potatoes, grasses and strawberries but notWe also represent our members in With regards to GM cultivation, our coun- ornamentals. international congresses and meetings. try has a biosafety law (No. 5977), whichTRKTED has organised a very successful regulates the biosafety issues. It is forbiddenREPRESENTATION AND SUPPORT ISF World Seed Congress (WSC) in 2009 to grow and consume GM crops in Trkiye.TRKTED represents its members atin Antalya. TRKTED and TSAB will In terms of the gene-editing techniques, Ithe national level in all aspects of the seedorganise the 2025 ISF WSC in stanbul can share that these are pretty new tech- sector, collaborating with the Ministry ofand TRKTED and TRKTOB (Turkish niques, and we are just following the devel- Agriculture and other players in the sectorSeed Union) will organise the APSA Seed opments in the world. We also fully realizetowards harmonisation of the rules and reg- Congress in Antalya, Trkiye in 2026. 36ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | MAY 2025'