The program, held at the Martyr Ömer Halisdemir Congress and Culture Center, was attended by our Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Uslu, Dr. Bülent Kahraman Çolakoğlu, Niğde Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Furkan Mete, Dean of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şekeroğlu, Çankaya University Communication Coordinator İsmail Yolcu, and numerous students from our university's academic and administrative staff.

The program began with the National Anthem and a moment of silence, followed by opening speeches from the participants. It continued with presentations by Dr. Bülent Kahraman Çolakoğlu and İsmail Yolcu regarding the program.

"Increasing Awareness of Agriculture"

This program, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Education and Publications Department and aimed at increasing awareness of agriculture among future green-collar workers, will be held in the agricultural, veterinary, forestry, and fisheries faculties, as well as the food engineering departments, communication faculties, and fine arts faculties of universities. The goal of these talks is to enable young people to get to know the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and its activities closely, to discover the opportunities offered by the ministry and the relevant private sector, and to build a foundation for career and future planning.

We are one of Türkiye's leading institutions in the field of agriculture.

Our University Rector Prof. Dr. In his opening speech at the program, Hasan Uslu emphasized that they are leading agricultural production and regional development with their "producing university" approach and that they are one of Turkey's leading institutions in the field of agriculture and food, stating, "With the establishment of the Niğde Agricultural Council, we laid the foundation for the international apple fair. We are expanding our agricultural practice area from 50 decares to 1000 decares, and with ongoing work, to over 2000 decares. We continue to support regional producers with our farmer training programs, and in this context, activities such as queen bee distribution, pruning, and fruit sapling cultivation are ongoing."

Touching upon the work done in digital agriculture, Rector Uslu said, "We started postgraduate education with the Interdisciplinary Digital Agriculture Department, which is the first and only one in Turkey, and we hosted the 1st Digital Agriculture Congress."

Dr. Bülent Kahraman ÇOLAKOĞLU, Head of the Education and Publication Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, provided information about the Green Collar Project in his speech.

What is the Green Collar Project?

Green Collar is a youth and volunteer project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Education and Publications Department, specifically targeting university students studying in fields such as agriculture, forestry, food, fisheries, and veterinary medicine. Through this project, the Ministry encourages the establishment of student groups called Green Collar in the relevant faculties of universities and collaborates directly with these groups.

Who are Green Collar?

Conceptually, beyond the concepts of "Blue Collar" (physical labor) and "White Collar" (office/mental labor), it represents educated professionals with high environmental awareness working in the fields of nature, agriculture, sustainability, and the environment. The Ministry has combined this definition with university students to create a "Volunteer Youth Movement."

The Group's Main Objectives

Mr. Çolakoğlu stated that the main objectives of the Green Collar Group are to combine theory and practice, assist in career planning, create awareness of sustainability in agriculture, and that the group follows a volunteer-based approach.

Activities Carried Out

In her speech, Dr. Çolakoğlu discussed the group's activities. Çolakoğlu stated that, as in this event, in addition to the "Conversations with Green Collar Workers" program, technical trips, social responsibility projects, and internship and training opportunities for students are also offered.

The Importance of the Program for Our Country

Mr. Çolakoğlu stated that this project aims to break the perception of an "aging population" in the agricultural sector and integrate educated young people into agriculture. He also noted that it provides students with a network where they can find answers to the question "what will I do?" early on after graduation.

Ismail Yolcu

Mr. Yolcu, who gave a career planning and motivation speech to high school students, continued his presentation with a question-and-answer session with the students.

The program concluded with the presentation of certificates and a commemorative photograph.