Celebrating the 174th Anniversary of Agriculture Education

The 174th Anniversary of Agricultural Education was celebrated through an event hosted by Cyprus International University (CIU) in cooperation with the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Engineers and Architects (CTCEA), the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Agricultural Engineers (CTCAE).

Dursun Oğuz, Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, CTP MP Erkut Şahali, Rector of CIU Prof. Dr. Halil Nadiri, President of CTCAE Seran Aysal, President of CTCAE Erkut Uluçam, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies of CIU, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Baktır and Ankara University faculty member, Prof. Dr. Cem Özkan spoke at the ceremony held at the Çevik Uraz Center Conference Hall.

In the event, Minister Dursun Oğuz stated that technological agriculture has developed depending on the changes in the world and said, "the efficiency and economic recycling of agricultural fields must be at a high level so that they can contribute economically to the country" by continuing that people give up agriculture that does not yield economic value, so, “the land remains idle. However, the land of this country needs to be cultivated to create value”. Minister Oğuz also stated that they are trying to provide efficient recycling and that they encourage agriculture, animal husbandry, and other fields.

Rector of CIU, Prof. Dr. Nadiri expressed that the world population is growing rapidly, and the need for agricultural products has also increased, in parallel to this growth. He added that scientists predict that the global crisis is a crisis that will be experienced in food and water resources in addition to oil or energy sources. “In this respect, issues such as global climate change, water assets, environmental protection, and energy efficiency are important issues that are discussed all over the world,” said Nadiri and continued that it is important that people, who are engaged in agriculture in changing conditions, need to renew themselves and “At this point, agriculture education has a very important duty at universities”.

Dean of the CIU Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Prof. Dr. Baktır mentioned that agricultural activities and ancestral agriculture education dates back years and reminded that people cannot live without food, water, and air. He also underlined that there are two faculties providing education in this field: “One-third of agricultural enterprises are multinational. We must highlight the foreign language. In this context, our faculty are leading the way”.

In his speech, CTCAE President Erkut Uluçam summarized the past and current situation of agricultural education and gave the audience information about the current state of TRNC agriculture.

Ankara University academic staff, Cem Özkan explained the importance of biological control without pesticides by giving examples from his research. He also mentioned that they are leading the production of beneficial insects with the companies established under the body of techno-city with undergraduate and graduate students. At the end of his speech, Özkan also stated that they are ready to cooperate with CIU.