Besler's Smart Agriculture Project Receives EUR 2.8 Million in Funding from Europe

Besler's AI-powered SAFER project is steering the future of sustainable agriculture. The project's second phase has secured EUR 2.8 million in support from EIT Food, Europe's largest food innovation community, following successful completion of the first phase.

Besler, Turkey's leading company in the frozen food and margarine market, is spearheading digital transformation in agriculture through the SAFER – Smart Agriculture Fields in the European Region project, carried out in partnership with the European Union and TÜBİTAK. The second phase of the project, which is one of the exemplary applications in the field of sustainable agriculture, has been awarded EUR 2.8 million in grant support by EIT Food, Europe's largest food innovation community.

Conducted with the European Union and TÜBİTAK, the SAFER Project monitors the pre-harvest process of potatoes through real-time field tracking and delivers significant gains in productivity increases and reduced environmental impacts. The second phase of the project was launched at a meeting held at Yıldız Holding's Çamlıca Campus with the participation of project partners.

In the successfully completed first phase of the project, numerous positive outcomes were achieved in technology-based productivity increases and reduction of environmental impacts in agriculture: 17% efficiency increase in potato production processes, 25% improvement in product quality, and 40% savings in water consumption contributed to agricultural sustainability criteria. In the second phase of the project, more advanced applications will be developed with AI-powered systems to predict the quality of potatoes to be harvested.

"The SAFER Project will steer the future of sustainable agriculture in Turkey"
In his opening remarks at the project's second phase meeting, Besler CEO Mert Altınkılınç stated that they place great importance on innovative projects in building a sustainable future in the agricultural sector. Altınkılınç continued his remarks as follows: "The SAFER Project assumes a pioneering role in Turkey's digital transformation of agriculture, presenting a forward-looking sustainable model. The support we have received from EIT Food, one of Europe's most respected food innovation organizations, in the second phase of our multi-stakeholder collaboration and efficiency-focused project proves that the steps we are taking are exemplary at the international level. As Besler, with our goal of making a strategic contribution to Turkey's agricultural development, we will continue to add value to the sector, advance sustainability and innovation together with all our stakeholders in the food ecosystem."