Ondokuz Mayis University (OMU) and Surmeli Village Association (SÜDER) declared the date of October 22 as "International Day of Organic Agriculture" in the activities organized in Sürmeli organic village. The Faculty of Agriculture at OMU organized an activity program on October 22 International Day of Organic Agriculture in Surmeli neighborhood of Bafra District.
The program was carried out with the participation of Osman Kaymak, Governor of Samsun, Yavuz Güner, District Governor of 19 Mayıs and Deputy District Governor of Bafra, Colonel Mustafa Ateş, Deputy Regiment Commander of Samsun Gendarmerie, Bafra Mayor Zihni Sahin, Göksel Başar, Head of Bafra Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Prof. Yusuf Demir, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at OMU, Nail Kırmacı, Manager of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, academicians at OMU, students from the Faculty of Agriculture and numerous guests.
Prof. Yusuf Demir, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at OMU, made the opening speech of the program, and he stated that they announced the date October 22 as "the International Day of Organic Agriculture". Prof. Demir also said: "We would like to celebrate the date of October 22 as the International Day of Organic Agriculture in the following years. From now on, today will be the International Day of Organic Agriculture. In the coming years, we will further develop this activity together with the OMU Faculty of Agriculture and SÜRDER. "
Samsun Governor Osman Kaymak stated that organic agriculture is a developing area in recent times and he remarked that "Organic and ecological agriculture is the solution of today's diseases. We will put our products on the markets by effectively applying the organic agriculture. As the governorate, we will do our best to develop this initiative."
The topic of organic agriculture, which the villagers are very interested in, has recently begun to attract people's attention. The villagers, who have found the opportunity to sell their natural products in the organic market, make their living by selling their products. In Sürmeli village, mainly women sell their products.
Çiğdem Önder, tradeswoman in Surmeli Village Organic Market, gave information about the market and she remarked that people were slowly getting used to the organic culture. Osman Bayraklı, another tradesman in the organic market, also stated that the citizens were closely interested in the organic products. Şevki Kulaksızoğlu mentioned the positive effects of organic foods on health.
Suleyman Özata, one of the producers in Sürmeli Village, stated that they started these initiatives within the scope of "Sürmeli Organic Agricultural Village Project" in cooperation with OMU in 2010, and he said that they aimed to become more organic, and that the Metropolitan municipality supported these initiatives.
After the program, Prof. Yusuf Demir, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and the students visited the gardens. Yusuf Demir, students and accompanying people visited the gardens.
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