Directorate of Agricultural Services
🌱 Section: Job Description
Under Law No. 6360, 12 villages within our municipality became “neighborhoods.” To support local producers and ensure residents' access to healthy food, the Agricultural Services Directorate was established in December 2014. It is authorized and responsible for:
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Carrying out irrigation, animal drinking water, flood control, and soil conservation activities per Law No. 5393.
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Planning, developing, supporting, supervising, and coordinating agricultural production.
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Managing services for seed, sapling, and seedling growing and breeding.
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Rehabilitating and making municipal agricultural land suitable for farming, afforestation, erosion prevention, and coordinating related NGO projects.
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Supporting healthy food production.
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Enforcing agricultural regulations and other legislation.
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Providing seeds, seedlings, saplings, fertilizers, and workshops, information, and training for producers and consumers within budget constraints.
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Supporting agricultural cooperatives under legislation.
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Offering advisory services and technical support for soil and water analysis.
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Conducting procurement tenders for goods and services when needed.
🌾 Section: Activity Areas
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Local Seed, Seedling & Sapling Production
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Established an “Ecological Local Seed Center,” showcasing 1,019 varieties (summer vegetables, grains, oilseeds, medicinal plants, etc.).
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Produced heirloom seeds on 8 decares; harvested about 150 million seeds. Distributed half a million summer and 100,000 winter vegetable seedlings.
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Distributed 8,000 fruit-tree saplings and 1,000 lavender seedlings, and set up quince-pomegranate and olive sapling nurseries.
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Production in Current/New Agricultural Plots
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Created community gardens (“Kent Bostan”) in local neighborhoods, empowering female residents to grow pesticide-free produce.
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Organized seed-ball projects for fire-affected areas.
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Collaborated with research centers to establish vineyards and orchards (e.g., 1,000 grape vines).
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Education, Consultancy & In-Kind Support
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Conducted diverse training (composting, seed germination, beekeeping, olive cultivation, labeling, balcony gardening, etc.) and organized seed exchange events.
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Trained 120 beekeepers, provided bee kits, and processed/homogenized honey for needy families.
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Bought unsold produce to sell via our cooperative, and offered logistical support during olive harvesting.
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Held agro-processing workshops (okra, olive, jam, cheese, burger, baguette) in partnership with universities and chefs.
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Encouraged backyard poultry by planting wheat to support feed needs.
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Organized a cherry festival with awards to promote cherry cultivation.
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Agricultural Analysis
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Offered soil, leaf, and water sample testing services for rural residents.
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Contract Farming
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Helped small farmers with inputs and infrastructure (e.g., drip irrigation) under a contractual viticulture project for “Bornova Muscat” grapes.
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Promotion of Agricultural Values
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Preserved local varieties (e.g. Bornova Kınalı Okra) through selection and seed reintroduction.
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Produced tulip bulbs and signed protocols for geographic registration of local produce.
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Agro-processing & Value Addition
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Processed, packaged, and marketed products from forest gardens, local farms, and the Directorate’s own cultivation.
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Joint Projects with Partners
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Implemented grape cultivation agreements with local farmers and research institutes for technical support.
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Signed collaboration agreements with the Agricultural Development Cooperative (Bornova Tarımsal Kalkınma Kooperatifi) and Ege University to create a biodiversity inventory.
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