In collaboration with Konya Chamber of Commerce (KTO), Karatay University's Smart Technologies Center (AKİTEK), and industrial organizations, advanced technology-equipped agricultural machinery is being produced. Under the Competitive Sectors Program of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the AKİTEK project, funded with a 5-million-euro co-financing from the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, is being carried out. Within the scope of the AKİTEK project, which shares the same name as the center, 8 pilot applications are being implemented. With the R&D and innovation support provided by AKİTEK, the prototypes of a tree-sensitive orchard spraying machine, a seed drill that avoids planting errors, and a field spraying machine have been completed by three industrial organizations operating in the Konya Organized Industrial Zone. Barış Samim Nesimioğlu, who serves as the Project Manager and a Doctoral Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at KTO Karatay University, mentioned to an AA correspondent that, as per the confidentiality agreement in the project, they will disclose the production of the developed machines to the public upon completion. Expressing their desire to overcome dependence on foreign countries in the field of agricultural machinery, Nesimioğlu emphasized their goal of making Turkish industrialists competitive globally in this sector. Nesimioğlu noted that, aside from developing equipment, AKİTEK is also engaged in activities aimed at changing agricultural practices. Source: AA (Anadolu Agency)
