Cargill has published the second progress report of the 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program. The program, which aims to improve the welfare of farmers and the productivity of their crops, while also supporting social and digital transformation in the field, has been running since 2019. The report covers the 2021-2022 production season and includes the views of around 40 stakeholders, including representatives from across nonprofits, universities, and civil society. 

The report highlights how the program helped farmers increase quality and yield in corn, sunflower and canola production. Launched in 2019 with 1,072 corn farmers in 6 provinces, the program added sunflower farmers in the second year and canola farmers in the third year. Expanding its impact and scope every year, the program has reached more than 5,000 farmers in 21 provinces in its fifth season and covers a production area of over 60,000 hectares. To date, farmers participating in the program have achieved yield increases of up to 20 percent. The program achieved these results through approaches such as free consultancy, training, and access to digital agricultural tools. 

It’s one way that Cargill Türkiye  seeks to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way, as the program contributes to 11 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“Inclusive sustainable development is possible with the socio-economic development of the society. Through our program, we play an important role not only in our country’s social development but also in its economic development,” stated Murat Tarakçıoğlu, Managing Director Cargill Food Solutions META (Middle East, Türkiye and Africa).

Access to consultancy, training, and digital farming tools

As detailed in the report, in 2021-2022 the 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program focused on satellite field health monitoring, which was carried out across more than 6,000 hectares, and complemented more than 5,000 digital soil analyses. Farmers benefited from 180,000 satellite images for monitoring their fields using more than 100 meteorology, irrigation, and forecasting stations. Additionally, the program’s techincal support line was available around the clock, and participants logged more than 170,000 minutes of calls while receiving over 120 hours of training. 

“Within the program, I use the Crop Health Monitoring free of charge. I can monitor the plant development from the application on my phone,” said Halil İbrahim Yağlıkara, 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity Farmer.

Recognized with more than 40 awards

Recognized with more than 40 prestigious national and international awards, the 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program was recently named a finalist at the Edison Awards,  honoring the world’s highest levels of new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation.  The program, which was awarded in the "Social and Cultural Impact - Innovation" category for its innovative solutions and sustainability approach, will receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze award at the ceremony to be held in Florida, USA on April 18.

The program is also the first corporate responsibility program in Türkiye to incorporate social impact research and measurement in agriculture and food. According to the results of the "Social Return on Investment" (SROI) study, every 1 Turkish Lira invested in the program created social benefits worth 2.53 TL in 2019, 2.78 TL in 2020, 3.03 TL in 2021, and 3.23 TL in 2022.

“Since the 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program became part of my life, we started to act by thinking 20 years ahead about our actions,” said Adem Ocak, 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity Farmer.

“Thanks to the agricultural sensor station, we can easily decide when to irrigate, and thanks to this device, the yield increase on my fields was 100 percent,” said Ceylan Karaoğlan, 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity Farmer who participate in the program since 2019.

“We know the importance of creating value for all stakeholders in the country's food supply chain to make it more sustainable. In this sense, I find the outputs of the 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program highly valuable,” stated Demir Şarman, TGDF – Federation of Food & Drink Industry Associations of Türkiye, Board Chairman.

Focusing on regenerative agriculture in the fifth year

Starting in 2023, 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity encourages farmers to focus more on regenerative farming practices. Participating farmers can follow special irrigation, fertilization, and spraying practices that help reduce disease risks and prevent soil pollution on their fields. The program also helps reduce the environmental impact of farmers' products while strengthening farmers’ fields through better soil health. 

The report can be accessed at:

https://www.1000ciftci1000bereket.com/kurumsal-raporlar/ilerleme-raporu.