STUNNING MESSAGES ON COTTON SUMMIT

Abdulkadir Kurtul, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISKUR Group of Companies, one of the largest textile companies in Kahramanmaraş, stated that the increase in cotton cultivation areas, which has been on a downward trend until the past years, is pleasing and stated that they expect this increase to increase further in new production periods.

Organized under the name of "Improving Quality and Sustainability in GAP Cotton" with the organization and sponsorship of Progem Tohum, the summit was held in Diyarbakır.

The presentation of Abdulkadir Kurtul, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISKUR Group of Companies, who participated as a speaker in the panel held after the opening speeches of the event, was listened to with interest.

Kurtul, in his presentation, focused on the situation of cotton cultivation areas, their improvement and making more effective macro and micro-scale parcellation plans according to the needs, the future development of domestic strategies in seed production, the development of cotton agriculture support policies, the attractiveness of production, and the reasons for turning to alternative agricultural products other than cotton. touched upon the development of programs on producer farmer training, commodity exchanges, the role of unions and chambers, and the expectations of the textile industry.

Stating that the cotton cultivation areas, which had been decreasing continuously until the past years in the region and throughout the country, have increased as of this year, Kurtul said, “We expect this positive increase to be even better in the coming years. Of course, in cotton farming, which we want to increase even more, domestic strategies and seed technology embodied are of vital importance. In this context, we should move forward our domestic production and related brand and certification strategies on the basis of R&D and P&D. We should make planning and strategy developments regarding the on-site analysis, selection and recovery of the seed from the ginning factories.”

Explaining that the studies on geography, climate and seed adaptation should be brought to a better point, Kurtul said:

“We have to avoid certification and auditing issues. In the light of all these parameters I have stated, at the point of supporting cotton agriculture; Increasing the effectiveness of public institutions, increasing the contribution of universities, revealing the support strategies of top public institutions in a positive way, ensuring the optimization of all input costs in cotton farming, the reasons for turning to alternative products in the limited cotton production areas in the country and discussing the measures that can be taken against it, which should be evaluated and addressed first. are matters.”

Training and planning advice

Kurtul made suggestions on training and planning, which he saw as the only solution method for all these issues.

Kurtul expressed his suggestions on this subject, “To implement the farmer trainings with the joint projects of professional chambers, public institutions, unions, stock exchanges and universities and to establish the concept of farming with authorization certificate, to ensure that the cultivation area and seed cotton production planning strategies at macro and micro scales are transparently shared with all stakeholders of the subject. should be implemented together with

Expectations of the textile industry

Kurtul, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISKUR Group of Companies, also spoke about the general expectations of the textile industry:

“Procurement of certified seeds, planting area and reassuring raw material related to farming, elimination of foreign matter problems other than cotton based on farmer trainings, quality standardization and classification with scientific basis, improved physical fiber properties with high spinnability are extremely important for a sustainable quality. ”

Expressing his expectations in terms of processes applied to unseeded cotton, Kurtul said, “The technique of collecting cotton by hand should be minimized, and in case of necessity, all necessary measures should be taken in terms of quality and contamination. Basic problems such as pollution and dust content that we experience in machine harvesting technique should be solved. It is a very important issue to develop the appraisal methods required in modern cotton farming and put them in a scientific and reliable database. Quality-based safe expertise is the only way that will lead us to sustainable success.”

“Ginning should be improved”

In his speech, Kurtul also underlined the need to improve the ginning process and technical preferences in ginning enterprises, which are the first industrial facilities based on cotton farming.

Stating that internal and external control mechanisms should be developed in ginning enterprises, Kurtul said, “Developing the technical infrastructure, sustainable quality standardization and optimization for the fiber cotton market, working in accordance with commercial ethics, and improving the role of trade exchanges, unions and chambers are of great importance. Here I should point out that; With the support of our region, we hope that the target of increasing our annual cotton harvest to 1 million tons and above in our country on a macro scale will be realized as soon as possible.

I am waiting and waiting.”

Stressing that he follows the studies on fiber cotton standardization and trade with interest by the GAP International Agricultural Research and Training Center Directorate, Kurtul gave the following messages:

“We firmly believe that GAB cotton will come to the place it deserves in every sense with the single bale barcode system. In the textile industry, I am in the expectation and work of minimizing import-based, high-product exports, due to our increasing consumption of cotton fiber in our country, with our cotton production trend that rises sustainably with quality. Domestic cotton production; I would also like to state that, unlike the graphics and trends in recent years, I am in the expectation and effort to see that it meets at least 90 percent of the industrial consumption.”

Stating that he is an industrialist who also struggles with technical details in the Textile Sector, Kurtul said, “The technical issues that I pay the most attention to in the supply of cotton fiber are; standardization, contamination, gin quality, fiber quality characteristics, sample and batch compatibility, suitability for use, expertise, commercial ethics and optimum cost. Technically at this point; A comprehensive quality and characteristic chart should be established for GAB cotton.”

“A more understandable subjective system specific to our cotton should be created”

Kurtul drew attention to the importance of creating different systems from other cotton producing countries, and included the following lines in his speech:

“Rather than the diagrams created in other countries, a more understandable subjective system specific to our cotton should be created. Although it is not possible to eliminate 100% of the problem of contamination, that is, foreign matter other than cotton, which is the first problem we encounter at the point of technical studies, we pay very high investment costs to at least minimize this problem. We maintain our desire to procure premium raw materials without having to pay these costs for improved and sustainable quality GAB cotton. Just at this point; We expect the sample fiber cotton types transferred to the textile industry to be sampled to represent the bulk cotton, and we expect the bulk cotton transferred to the industry to be suitable for the sample sample. Because it is very important to evaluate fiber cotton types in accordance with their physical properties in the textile industry. This issue seriously affects the end product quality, customized production performance and the cost of the end product. In terms of healthy expertise, which is one of the most important issues; I am in the expectation and effort to develop scientific data-based appraisal models in cotton farming and ginning stages and to be able to supply safe accordingly.”

business ethics

Kurtul also touched upon the "Commercial Ethics" issue, which is an indispensable part of business life, and said:

“I also care about optimum moisture content, minimizing the content of dust and similar substances, preventing pollution, not allowing fiber content that has become matted and unusable in industry. I would also like to state that, as a result of achieving these determinations with the unity of hand and heart, I am in the expectation and effort of creating optimum cost elements in the cooperation and communication of all stakeholders of the subject, from cotton farming to ginning enterprises and us industrial facilities.”