Platform's English version will be prepared in the second stage of the Project for enabling the access of international buyers to Turkish produce. In this way, a direct connection between the buyers in foreign countries and the producers in Turkey will be established.

TURKEY continues to implement projects on digital transformation in numerous areas. Within this scope, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry launched the Digital Agriculture Market (DITAP), which will carry the entire chain from food production to consumption to a digital environment. The number of DITAP's members reached 28 thousand within a mere three months and a total turnover of over TRY100 million was achieved.

CONTRACTUAL AGRICULTURE

DITAP will enable agricultural supply and demand to meet with the "digital marketplace" approach and contractual agriculture practice. The Project will also help the producer earn more income and enable the agricultural industry to find the farm product in demanded quality. DITAP will facilitate the consumer's access to more affordable agricultural products. Agricultural sector stakeholders using DITAP via www.ditap.gov.tr will also be able to benefit from the banks' supportive loan packages availed as part of the contractual agriculture model.

TEN PERCENT IN THE FIRST STAGE

In the initial stage, ten percent of Turkey's fruit and vegetable production will be executed in line with the contracts signed via DITAP. Agricultural demand and supply will be connected through the platform while the agricultural production will become more planned on account of the contractual agriculture model. With the help of this system, which enables the control of the whole chain from the seed to fork and sustainability, small-scale farming businesses will reach the same prices and enjoy the same conditions of competition with the large-scale farmers.

ONE OUT OF EVERY 3 PRODUCE GOES TO WASTE

Thanks to this system, protecting both the producer and the consumer, zero waste in agricultural production will become possible. According to the researches, one of every three products in the world goes to waste. These losses are aimed to be eliminated through DITAP's effective planning in the agricultural production chain. In the oncoming stages of the Project, livestock farming and intermediate agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds will be included in the scope of DITAP. The platform focuses on the planning of agricultural production. For the execution of such a plan, demands will be formed in the agricultural product market beforehand for the sake of both the individual and industrial consumers

BUYERS ABROAD

For contributing to export activities, DITAP's English version will be prepared in the second stage of the Project. In this way, the producers can directly reach the buyers living in other countries. Buyers abroad will have access to farmers across Anatolia for the implementation of contractual production.

BRANDING WILL GAIN IMPETUS

The contractual agriculture portal DITAP will enable the marketplaces, fruit and veg shops and chain stores that direct the market for the individual and food factories that control the industrial product market to generate demands on agriculture stocks. Through an SMS notification, these demands will be transmitted to the farmers across the country. The processed food industry will also benefit from the portal. Branding and marketing of many products, products with geographical in particular, are aimed to be achieved with an increase in their added value. In this way, growth in the export-oriented market is targeted.

AGRICULTURE GDP REACHES $48.5 BILLION

Covid-19 pandemic proved the prominence of the security of the food supply chain to the whole world. Turkey is capable of reaching 40% of the global population by only a 4-hour flight and can access a geography with an agricultural trade volume valued at $1.9 trillion. Achieving a figure of $48.5 billion in agriculture GDP, Turkey is at the top of the list in Europe and among the global top ten. In terms of agricultural produce, in 2019, Turkey's exports reached $18 billion, and imports added up to $12.7 billion. Turkey has a foreign trade surplus of $5.3 billion in agriculture. Last but not least,  Turkey is a net exporter in agriculture as it exports one thousand and 827 types of agricultural products to 193 countries.