Dicle University Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Department organized and hosted the 2nd National Harvest Mechanization Workshop, with the support of TARMAKBİR, on 21-22 September 2023, at Dicle University Diyarbakır 15 Temmuz Congress Center.
With the participation of 186 people regarding the agenda items, the workshop lasted for 2 days, 2 of which were “Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Industry Special Session”, 4 of which were “Combine Harvesters and Grain Harvesting Machines Session”, 2 of which were “Cotton Harvesting Machinery Session”, 1 of which was ” A total of 10 sessions were held, one of which was the “Legume Harvesting Machinery Session” and 1 of which was “The Harvester and Roughage Harvesting Machinery Session”. The work to be done according to the 2nd National Harvest Mechanization Final Report can be summarized as follows:
Legal regulations, government supports and registration procedures:
Since the issue is closely related to food safety, legal regulations should be made to prevent harvest losses and a contract harvest system should be introduced.To prevent harvest losses, legal regulations should be made, and a contract harvest system should be introduced. Additionally, agricultural machinery subject to the contracting system should be in subsidized agricultural mechanization loans, and grant support programs should evaluate agricultural machinery for harvest mechanization separately. Registration procedures for work machines used in agriculture, which are under the responsibility of TZOB, should be carried out effectively.
Operator training:
Operator training courses in T.R. Ministry of National Education and T.R. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in coordination with the Ministry of National Education, should discipline the operator training courses. Additionally, they should focus on making the mechanization training centers as effective as they were in the past. Furthermore, the operator training should be conducted by technical staff who are subject experts. An internship system should be introduced for people receiving operator training and an operator certificate should be issued after working in the field for one season.
Formatting fees, control and inspections:
Harvesting fees should be announced as a “recommended price” throughout the province before the season, after taking the opinions of all relevant parties. It is essential that the harvest price is determined between the farmer and the machine operator. Parameters such as estimated yield, land size and structure, and product type are the factors that determine the harvest price. In this context, it is important that the difference between the recommended price and the real prices be subject to government support. Field inspections should be effective during the harvest season and penalties should be a deterrent. Periodic pre-harvest inspection procedures of self-propelled machines with mobile stations must be completed and introducing an internship system for people receiving operator training and having them work in the field for one season would result in the issuance of an operator certificate and support farmers with necessary services. In this way, farmers will be able to use the latest technology agricultural machinery at an affordable cost, without any investment costs, thanks to the modern equipment and skilled workforce owned by the contractors. Since the use of shared machinery or machinery contracting services will increase, the machines’ use hours will also increase, which will result in the need to renew the machines in a shorter time. This will be a positive development for industrialists and will provide the opportunity to offer more up-to-date technology to farmers in much shorter periods. The contracting system and the use of this system by farmers should be specifically encouraged and supported.
