The closing ceremony of the INNOFOOD Project, which was implemented within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, funded by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, was held at the TÜGİP Food Innovation Center in Gebze with the participation of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology, and Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK.
In this important meeting, where TUBITAK Marmara Research Center is the final beneficiary and Giresun Commodity Exchange, Şanlıurfa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Gaziantep Commodity Exchange are the regional partners, sector stakeholders came together to share the successes achieved with the INNOFOOD Project, which is an important milestone in the food sector of our country, and for future collaborations.
Turkey, Leading Producer in the World
Delivering the opening speech of the event, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology, noted that the export of food products increased by three and a half percent in 2023 and amounted to twenty-six billion dollars. Yozgatlıgil said, "In this context, the food industry, which has been a net exporter for twenty years, draws its strength mainly from agricultural production. On the other hand, Turkey ranks twenty-first in the world food and beverage exports with the export of agricultural products. The unit export value of our country, which has a share of one and a half percent in global exports, is approximately 1.2 dollars per kilogram."
Stating that Turkey ranks in the top 10 on a global scale with 68 billion USD in agricultural products produced, Yozgatlıgil underlined that Turkey, which ranks first in Europe, is the world's leading producer of hazelnuts, apricots, figs and cherries. Yozgatlıgil said, "Turkey is also in the top regional position in the production, processing and export of food products in the markets of Europe and the Middle East. Turkey has created an important economy in its nearby geography with a population of 600 million and aims to increase its market share in this region, which is currently around 1.5 percent, to three percent in the next ten years."
"Climate change and sustainability are important today"
Stating that two thousand new businesses are established in the food and beverage sector every year, Yozgatlıgil continued his words as follows:
"99 percent of these enterprises are SMEs. When we look at these figures, the increase in income from the agriculture and food sectors for Turkey has a significant potential to increase social welfare and quality of life. On the other hand, agriculture, food and related research, technology development and innovation processes have become more important today than ever before due to the rapidly growing world population, climate change and sustainability."
27 food export bans in 19 countries by 2023
Stating that 19 countries imposed export bans on 27 foods in 2023, Yozgatlıgil said that this change, which is a reflection of the climate crisis on global food trade, is the clearest indicator that localized solutions in food are becoming increasingly important. Yozgatlıgil said, "When we look at the place of the sector in the economy, its importance, its contribution to the foreign trade balance, the need to increase the unit execution value and create new value-added products, it is obvious that our INNOFOOD project will fill a very important gap."
Total budget around 27 million euros
Noting that the total budget is approximately 27 million Euros, Yozgatlıgil emphasized that the primary objectives are to strengthen the institutional capacities based on R&D and innovation of the food and beverage manufacturing sector, especially sprout enterprises and SMEs operating in Turkey, to reduce food losses, to increase the competitiveness of both enterprises and the region with value-added products and to contribute to sustainable food R&D security.
Yozgatlıgil said, "This is the first time in our country that an infrastructure with such a wide range of opportunities has been realized for the food industries. TÜGİP Food Innovation Center, the kilo-scale integrated pistachio processing facility in Gaziantep, the food research and analysis centers established in Şanlıurfa and Giresun have the potential to make very important contributions to the food industry and thus to the economy as a whole."
Giresun and Şanlıurfa laboratories will analyze
Stating that food industry companies, universities, public institutions and organizations, representatives of umbrella organizations are discussing the problems of the sector, Yozgatlıgil said that they are drawing forward-looking road maps for thematic areas that stand out in the world and in Turkey, identifying new research and innovation areas and defining platform programs and projects to be carried out in cooperation. Yozgatlıgil said, "Thanks to the high-tech analysis devices in Giresun and Şanlıurfa laboratories, analyzes that cannot be performed in the region will be carried out in food products. Cooperation with the universities in the region to contribute to the innovative and competitive structure of the food industry in the region has already started to shape projects."
2 patents received
Emphasizing that 176 members, including 43 large enterprises, 28 SMEs, 24 micro enterprises, 52 sprout enterprises, 14 NGOs, 13 universities and 2 TEKNOPARKs, have registered to the TÜGİB platform within the scope of the project, Yozgatlıgil said, "These members have developed and prototyped 21 new products. 12 of these products have been successfully commercialized. In addition, 15 patent applications were made and in two of them, the process was completed and patents were obtained."
"Today we are with you not for a closing but for a new beginning"
Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK, emphasized the following in his speech "Today, we are not here to celebrate the closing of a project, but a new beginning. In my opinion, we are at a more important stage than the opening of the project because we are now putting into practice what we have learned in this process."
In addition, emphasizing the importance of visiting the project with its infrastructures and stakeholders in every period, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK, said: "It is a project that started before the 2010s but has been officially ongoing since 2018. When we started the project in 2018, it was a pre-pandemic period and the need for food, climate change and climate crisis were not yet so visible. Especially with the pandemic, the importance of food-supply security has increased. Looking to the future, when combined with the climate crisis, food will be the most important topic that will affect people's life process socially, sociologically and economically."
Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal said, "What makes this project, or rather the platform, valuable is its business model. The INNOFOOD project is not just a research project or a research infrastructure, it is a part of TÜGİP, Turkey Food Innovation Platform. In addition to identifying what we need, how we solve this need is also of great importance. This is why we brought the INNOFOOD project to the forefront, but in the background we focused more on the platform. The TÜGİP brand is now ahead of the INNOFOOD brand and I am pleased with this. In the future, these projects will make even more sense."
"As we close the INNOFOOD project, we are also talking about the future of the platform"
"As we close the INNOFOOD project today, we will also be talking about the future of the platform. Because the infrastructure in this building will continue with the infrastructures in our other three cities and TUGIP is a structure that we are trying to show as an example in many countries. Beyond just using this infrastructure, it is an environment where we try to learn from each other, that is, where we try to find the answer to the 'how' question, and I think this is very valuable in terms of learning together, developing together and achieving together." Mandal said, and shared his satisfaction that this place has become a meeting point with the startup ecosystem, even though it was not planned at the beginning: "We have big corporate companies. But we have also created an environment that can strengthen the startup ecosystem in the field of food, as in the software sector, as in other digital technology-based structures. In this sense, it is one of the firsts for us in terms of a structure where not only companies learn from each other, but also the companies of the future can learn from each other. It is also one of the best examples for our country."
Mandal also mentioned the importance of MARTEK and said, "All of the opportunities offered within the scope of Law No. 4691 of the Technopark legislation are provided in this building. This is an important privilege. Especially when we convey this to our stakeholders abroad, they understand this as a very special status. That's what we want. This is a very good business model."
Drawing attention to the international dimension of the issue, Mandal emphasized that this platform is also in an important position to increase our international visibility and international cooperation, and said: "For example, this could be a European Union project, or it could be an application tool of the United Nations Technology Bank. I was in Ghana earlier this week, one of the most developed countries in Africa. But when we look at it, there are still many areas that can be developed in terms of added value. They have products, there are very simple applications that can increase the added value of those products. I believe that the potential of this current platform to serve not only for our own country, but also for the geographies of these developing and underdeveloped countries, especially in friendly and allied geographies, which Mr. President has targeted, can be much more than its current state. The project may have been completed, but I think it will be a new beginning for our country and at the same time with excitement and responsibility at the international level."
After the speeches, INNOFOOD Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cesarettin Alaşalvar and INNOFOOD TA Team Leader Deniz Bayhan made presentations on INNOFOOD Project Activities and Achievements.
Mr. Mehmet Akıncı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gaziantep Commodity Exchange, Mr. Ünal Şensoy, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Giresun Commodity Exchange, and Mr. Serhat Karadağ, Chairman of the Assembly of Şanlıurfa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, provided information on the activities and achievements of the Regional Stakeholders of the INNOFOOD Project.
Finally, the Role Model and Technical Support Program were discussed in the Experience Sharing Session moderated by Dr. Sanem Yalçıntaş, CEO of CATALYSADE and TUBITAK-TEMEG Group Executive Committee Member.
TÜGİP and the Role of the Food Innovation Center
The INNOFOOD project has taken pioneering steps to create an innovative and competitive structure in Turkey's food and beverage industry. The Food Innovation Center and the Turkish Food Innovation Platform (TÜGİP), established within the scope of the project, have made great contributions to the sector by supporting the R&D and innovation activities of the food industry. These projects made it possible for our R&D and innovation ecosystem to achieve greater goals by targeting a sustainable future in the food industry.
The Food Innovation Center was established within the TÜBİTAK MAM Life Sciences Vice Presidency and on a 5,800 square meter closed area at TÜBİTAK Gebze Campus. The Center enables the most comprehensive R&D studies in Turkey with 9 pilot-scale processing lines and research laboratories where advanced food analysis can be carried out for R&D and innovation studies needed by the food industry. The Food Innovation Center, together with the Pilot Scale Integrated Pistachio Processing Plant in Gaziantep and the Food Research and Analysis Centers established in Şanlıurfa and Giresun, will continue to make significant contributions to the food industry and thus to the economy. TÜGİP, on the other hand, stands out as the first platform of its kind in Turkey with its comprehensive infrastructure and extensive facilities for the food industry. These centers and the platform will establish an organic link between the food industry and TÜBİTAK MAM and ensure the spread of innovation culture in the sector.
Future Goals and Roadmap
TÜGİP makes important contributions to the food sector with its vision and roadmap. Among the primary objectives are to strengthen the R&D and innovation-based institutional capacities of the food and beverage manufacturing sector, especially start-ups and SMEs operating in Turkey, reduce food losses, increase the competitiveness of both enterprises and regions with value-added products, and contribute to sustainable food supply security.
Within the scope of the INNOFOOD project, food industry companies, universities, public institutions and organizations, and representatives of umbrella organizations come together to discuss the problems of the sector and draw road maps for the future. New research and innovation areas are identified, platform programs and projects to be carried out in cooperation are defined, and contributions are made to the financial support agenda. Food industrialists have the chance to scale new product development and product improvement activities in a cost-effective and high-quality manner.
Technical and practical training programs will continue to be organized for engineers and operators in the areas needed by the food industry. Thanks to the high-tech analysis devices in Giresun and Şanlıurfa laboratories, analysis of food products that cannot be performed in the region will be carried out and will contribute to the innovative and competitive structure of the food industry in the region.
INNOFOOD project has achieved a significant success as the R&D and innovation focus in Turkey's food and beverage sector. Thanks to the established centers and platform, those who have the technology and the institutions and organizations that need technology will continue to produce and grow by working together. TÜGİP and the Food Innovation Center will continue to increase Turkey's competitiveness in the food industry by offering innovative solutions to the sector in the future.
