Important Cooperation Agreement Reached in the Agricultural Sector

Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and the University of Health Sciences (SBÜ) have signed a cooperation protocol covering various topics including urban agriculture, soilless farming, plant production, product development, sales and marketing, educational strategies, agritourism, and research and development activities aimed at the use of harvested medicinal and aromatic plants in the pharmaceutical industry. The cooperation protocol was signed at a ceremony held at the Metropolitan Municipality's Gebze service building between Kocaeli Metropolitan Mayor Tahir Büyükakın and Istanbul University of Health Sciences (SBÜ) Rector Prof. Dr. Cevdet Erdöl. Mayor Büyükakın stated that they are continuing their efforts to increase agricultural production and the added value of products in Kocaeli. Noting that they will cooperate with the University of Health Sciences to develop the Urban Agriculture and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Cultivation Project (TABİP) and to conduct research and development activities with scientific reasoning, Mayor Büyükakın continued as follows: "This cooperation will provide important contributions within the framework of TABİP for conducting broader and more in-depth work on the production of medicinal and aromatic plants, their processing in facilities, the manufacturing of cosmetic products, and activities directed toward the pharmaceutical industry."

"We are working diligently"

Mayor Büyükakın, noting that as Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality they have been making diligent efforts for a long time on supporting agriculture, increasing added value in agriculture, and bringing agricultural activities together with scientific techniques, made the following statements on the subject: "Most recently, under our President's supervision, we signed a research and development project with our Ministry of Industry and Technology. Within this framework, we implemented TABİP. It was a project that would increase the added value reaching our farmers through purchase guarantees by producing medicinal and aromatic plants and enable them to achieve a higher standard of living. We carried out work spanning from end to end, from the very beginning of production through to final consumption in all areas."

"Strength comes from unity"

Rector Prof. Dr. Erdöl said: "We know that our university is quite capable in terms of laboratories and human resources, and that Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality is very experienced in these matters and has considerable accumulated knowledge. In this sense, with the belief that strength comes from unity, we thank our Kocaeli Governorate and our Metropolitan Mayor for supporting us in this matter. I hope the work will be beneficial for Kocaeli, our country, and our nation," he stated.