First lady Emine Erdoğan visited the Türkiye Seed Gene Bank of the Field Crops Central Research Institute in the Yenimahalle district of Ankara to learn about the ongoing work there.
During her visit, Erdoğan was greeted by Agriculture and Forestry Deputy Minister Ahmet Bağcı and Agricultural Research and Policies Director General Metin Türker, and visiting children presented her with flowers.
The first lady toured important plant areas and the seed stand of the gene bank, where the institute's director, Hümeyra Yaman, briefed her on the gene bank's activities. Following these inspections, Erdoğan moved to the herbarium room and created herbariums from dried plants.
She also examined the activities in the selection unit, seed cleaning room, physiology laboratory, drying room, climate rooms and cold storage rooms at the seed gene bank and received information from the staff about the processes the seeds undergo in the gene bank.
During the tour, Yaman noted that thanks to the contributions of the Heritage Local Seed Project initiated by Erdoğan, a total of 1,537 seeds were collected between 2020-2022.
Yaman reported that local seed collection efforts continue under the project, saying: "Under Emine Erdoğan's leadership, we are continuing seed collection efforts, especially with development agencies. Our colleagues say, 'We need to go to this region,' and we issue assignments – as long as there are donors."
After the inspections, Erdoğan was presented with a seed table in the shape of a map of Türkiye as a memento of the day. Later, she took a commemorative photo with the institute's staff and thanked them for their work.
The Türkiye Seed Gene Bank contributes to the activities under the Heritage Local Seed Project, which was initiated under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The Türkiye Seed Gene Bank operates 64 centers nationwide. It safeguards heritage seeds and ensures their transfer to the future.
Additionally, efforts are underway at the gene bank to develop new varieties.
In recent years, the seed gene bank has been fulfilling an extremely important role in terms of global food supply security, a topic of significant global concern.
After her visit, Erdoğan said in a post on her social media account: "I learned about the classification and analysis of seeds from our country's entire plant diversity. Through our Heritage Local Seed Project, thousands of genetic materials are being multiplied here alongside ancestral seeds, contributing value to local production and academic research. Both our past and future are being safeguarded. This way, seeds representing our ancestors' efforts, wisdom and art of harmonizing with nature are passed down from generation to generation. I wish for an increase in the number of our seed gene banks and the guarantee of local and national production, and I thank everyone involved."
