Within the scope of the Research Project on Identification of Organic Agriculture Basins in the DOKAP Region, technical visits to the Andalusia Region of Spain between April 2 and April 6 were completed in order to see examples of good practices in organic agriculture and marketing of agricultural products. The data obtained from these visits to Spain's leading agricultural research and technology centers, universities, and enterprises working in the field of agriculture and food will constitute input for the creation of clustering strategies to be developed for the DOKAP Region, the design of the support system, and the feasibility study of the Innovation and Biotechnology Center planned to be built in the region.
On the first day of the program, the Andalusian Technology Park (Parque Tecnologico De Andalucia - PTA), which is considered as the best technology park in the Andalusia region and is also the Headquarters of the International Association of Science Parks and Innovation Spaces IASP, was visited and information was received from the authorities of the institution and views were exchanged on various issues, especially the innovation development model, international cooperation models and the contribution of the park to the development of the region.
On the second day of the program, the olive groves in Acequias and Nigüelas, located at the foot of the Lecrin Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are at the forefront of olive and olive oil production, were visited before noon. After examining the different types of olive trees grown in the region, some of which are hundreds of years old, and irrigation canals dating back to Roman times, the historical olive oil mill in the Museo Almazara Las Laerillas in Nigüelas, where the history of olive cultivation in the region is told, was visited. Within the scope of the olive oil tour, which emphasized the health and cosmetic benefits of olive oil as well as its pure consumption and explained the product value chain, the contributions of integrated destination management to regional economic development by planning agriculture and tourism in a mutually supportive manner were also examined on site.
In the afternoon program, the participants visited Granada, where they visited CIDAF (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo del Alimento Funcional, es un Centro de excelencia de Investigación y Desarrollo), a multidisciplinary research and development technology center specializing in agricultural products located in the Health Sciences Technology Park (Parque Tecnologico de Ciencias de la Salud - PTS), and gathered information on the feasibility of an innovation and biotechnology center in the DOKAP Region. The strategies of the center and the cooperation processes among the members were examined and opinions were exchanged on the issues that should be considered when establishing a center for biotechnology.
The field visits continued on Thursday and Friday with meetings with leading science and technology centers, universities and agricultural research institutions in the Andalusian cities of Seville and Cordoba. During the visits to the University of Seville and the University of Cordoba, information was received about the agricultural products that contribute to the development of the region, the methods applied in their marketing and the research activities carried out within the university for these products. In addition, presentations on the future strategies of Spain, which largely meets the agricultural needs of Europe, and the place of Andalusia in these strategies were listened to and possible collaborations were also evaluated.
On the last day of the program, visits to the Rabanales campus of the University of Cordoba were made to the trial gardens, Rabanales 21 Technology Park (Parque Científico Tecnológico de Córdoba) and CANVAX Biotech company. During the visits, information was obtained about the services offered within the park and the activities carried out in the trial gardens, while CANVAX Biotech's innovative services and products, laboratories, organization and cooperation networks were examined. During these visits, ideas were exchanged on the issues to be considered in innovation and biotechnology centers to be established regionally, analysis of machinery and equipment needs and regional prioritization.
During the meetings, TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE and DOKAP officials made presentations introducing both their institutions and the project, as well as various promotional activities to raise awareness about our country and the DOKAP Region.
