Faculty of Agriculture

Hello, I am Professor Taki Demir, Dean of Faculty of Agriculture at Sakarya University of Applied Sciences. Our faculty was established in 2018 under the Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, which was established from the division of Sakarya University. After our faculty was established in 2018, we came together with sector representatives in Sakarya and decided which departments should be in our faculty by consulting them. As a result of these interviews, it was decided together with the industry that it is appropriate to have Horticulture, Field Crops, Plant Protection and Landscape Architecture departments in our province and our faculty, and this request was conveyed to YÖK (Council of Higher Education). After the necessary preparations, the opening of these 4 departments was approved by YÖK. Afterwards, we started to take our first students in the 2020-2021 academic year. Our first students started their education in the Field Crops Department with a quota of 30. We also took graduate students to the Department of Horticulture. In this context, 13 graduate students have settled in this program, graduate education institute Horticulture Department. Although we currently have students in one department, we are planning to take students to the departments of Horticulture, Plant Protection and Landscape Architecture in the academic year of 2021-2022. First of all, if we need to introduce Sakarya, our faculty is located in Arifiye district, one of the central districts of Sakarya province and neighboring Sapanca. In terms of transportation, it is close to Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa. Arifiye is one of the districts where the highway passes. We are located very close to Sapanca Lake and 10 minutes from the city center.
Sakarya is one of the provinces that contribute to our country with hazelnut cultivation in Karasu and Kocaali districts in the north. On the other hand, quince cultivation is carried out in Pamukova and Geyve districts in the south. While we were establishing the faculty, we aimed to raise students as well as to conduct academic studies in order to reveal the very high potential in the agricultural field, primarily hazelnut, quince, corn and outdoor ornamental plants in Sakarya. We are planning to do R&D (research and development) studies at the graduate level. If we talk about our laboratories in our faculty, the Plant Tissue Culture Production Laboratory is both affiliated with the Agricultural Sciences and Technologies Research Center. Therefore, we have the opportunity to produce seedlings of many fruit species with tissue culture. Our trained staff work actively in the laboratories. On the other hand, thanks to the Tissue Culture Production Laboratory that we established under the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, our current students will have the opportunity to do workplace training there and, thus, improve themselves. Similarly, with the protocols and collaborations we have made with Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality, it will be possible for our students to develop themselves in this field, both by taking part in projects and by doing workplace trainings in existing agricultural enterprises. Our faculty has Pomology Laboratory, Genetic Resources Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratories. Apart from these, within the framework of the protocol signed between the Egyptian Research Institute and especially between the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of Agriculture, it will be possible to benefit from both the land and laboratory facilities of the Egyptian Research Institute. Our students will be able to operate in these areas as well.
Graduates of Horticulture, Field Crops and Plant Protection departments will graduate with the title of Agricultural Engineer. The agricultural field and the sectors operating in this field have to improve themselves. The agricultural engineers we have trained have serious business potential both in the public sector and in the private sector. The important thing here is that our students have the infrastructure and opportunities to educate themselves. Since we do this together with the sector in Sakarya, we will share the latest developments in the sector as well as the latest theoretical developments in our school and faculty. Sakarya is one of the provinces with very developed transportation facilities and having different climates together. Black Sea climate, continental climate and Mediterranean climate effects can be seen if you go towards Pamukova. It is one of the cities where our students can experience mountain and sea tourism together. Therefore, our students can choose Sakarya to be able to train themselves as engineers, not only because they can get a good education at the university, but also because it offers touristic opportunities with its mountains, seas, floodplain and lakes. The point we particularly emphasize is that we train our students together with the industry. Our students should choose us if they want to pursue an agricultural education and take their place in the sector by graduating after an education process that they will not regret. We are ready for this, our teachers are ready, our facilities are ready and the sector in Sakarya is ready for this. We expect our students to be ready and come here. Thank you.