I worked on feed production and formulations both in Romania and Turkey at that time. I took part in the commissioning of our new feed factories. After 13 years, I continued my work as a Regional Director and then as a Poultry Coordination Director. I have been continuing my work at Banvit BRF as the Operations Director since 2023.

How does the production process at Banvit BRF work in brief?

As Banvit BRF, we carry out our chicken meat production in our 3 facilities located in Bandırma, İzmir and Elazığ. Our production process begins with the chickens that are taken from the farms of our contracted breeders by special transportation vehicles and delivered to our facilities and transferred to our production line. We cut each chicken by hand in accordance with halal standards, process them in automatic machines and cool them. Then, we prepare our products according to the demands of our consumers and customers and transfer them to our cold storage facilities to be sent to distribution points. All our chicken meat production facilities operate under the control of official veterinarians affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

We also deliver our products to our consumers through our branches and dealers spread throughout the country. On the other hand, we also provide intensive service to our customers in the export market and the Horeca (hotel, restaurant, cafe) sector. Our current product portfolio includes a wide range of ready-to-eat products such as döner, nuget, meatballs, kebabs and schnitzel, as well as whole, piece and sauced fresh chicken meat products and chicken delicatessen products such as sucuk, salami, sausage.

What are your practices regarding animal health in live production?

As Banvit BRF, we attach great importance to this issue. It is extremely important to create suitable conditions such as temperature, ventilation, sufficient feed and water for the chicks delivered from our hatchery facilities to the coops from the very first day. We work with all of our business partners engaged in broiler breeding under contract, and the coops belong to them. We make changes or adjustments in the maintenance and management conditions according to the age of the chicks and seasonal conditions.

In addition, ventilation, heating, cooling, feed and water management in all of our coops are carried out with fully automatic equipment. We also have different practices regarding feed according to the age of the chickens. Values such as energy and protein in the feed are adjusted according to the age of the chicken. In the meantime, our veterinarians regularly inspect the flock health, performance, care and management conditions in the coops. The chickens that remain in the coops for 45-46 days are sent to our production facilities after they reach the appropriate weight. The emptied coops are cleaned, washed and disinfected in preparation for the next period. In this way, we provide suitable conditions for new chicks.

Recently, bird flu cases have started to re-emerge in our country as in different countries of the world. Can you also tell us about your practices in this regard?

As a country, we experienced our first bird flu case in 2005. Since our ministry and our sector closely follow the developments in the world in this regard, all the necessary preparations were made and bird flu was successfully brought under control. Of course, this disease continues to exist in the wild and can be re-diagnosed from time to time in points where the biosecurity chain is weakened due to seasonal migration movements.

As Banvit BRF, we have high-level biosecurity measures in all our farms and continue to implement our biosecurity measures at the highest level, as we do throughout the year. We also scan all the herds on our farms before they are shipped to our production facilities. We put our herds into production after they are checked by official veterinarians affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on duty at our facilities.

As an integrated producer, you also produce feed, what are the practices here?

We feed all the chickens we raise on our farms with the feed we produce in our feed factories. We prepare the pellet feeds we produce in our feed factories in Balıkesir, Elazığ and İzmir in accordance with the nutritional and energy values that chicks and chickens need during their growth periods. We transport them to our breeding farms with our modern feed transport vehicles without touching them.

What kind of studies do you carry out as a company regarding sustainability practices?

The most valuable legacy we can leave to future generations is a livable world. For this reason, we continue our sustainability studies without interruption. In this context, we carry out our sustainability studies in a wide range from saving measures to energy and recyclable packaging, from waste management to afforestation and education studies.

We have been working on water saving for many years. Thanks to our Waste Water Recycling Facility operating in our Bandırma main production campus, we recycle the water generated from our production processes and coming from the treatment plant in drinking water quality at varying rates every year. In 2022, we recovered an average of 43 percent of the water we treated in drinking water quality, and by the end of 2023, we increased this rate to 51 percent. Thus, instead of using natural resources, we continue to protect underground water resources by recycling wastewater.

As a company, we also aim to provide 50 percent of our electricity consumption from renewable sources. We also encourage our growers in this regard. Currently, among our growers, we have business partners who meet their farm's energy with solar panels placed on their coops. We want this exemplary model to become widespread.

On the other hand, all of our company's production campuses have "Zero Waste" certificates and we carry out our production process with the "zero food loss model". We have a facility where we process and recover organic waste generated in our production process. We sell the raw material generated here to pet food companies, thus indirectly contributing to animal nutrition.

Another issue we care about is our packaging. In line with our sustainability goals, our usage rate of packaging made of recyclable materials was 92.9 percent by the end of 2023. We continue our work to increase this rate to 100 percent. We have recently introduced our new packaging designs to our consumers. While doing this work, again in line with our sustainability policy; we are gradually transitioning to our new designs on the shelves and are progressing by melting the existing packaging of our previous design face in our stocks.

In addition to all these studies, we have also provided environmental training to our employees in our Bandırma, İzmir and Elazığ facilities on zero waste, waste management and correct waste separation. The trainings were completed in a wide range of areas such as environmental pollution, waste management, legal obligations and climate change.

You have recently launched the AGROBRF project. What is AGROBRF and for what purpose was it developed?

AGROBRF is an application that connects our growers to the company through digital means and provides benefits to the stakeholders affected by the project by optimizing our operations. With this application, we aim not only to bring our growers together with our company, increase efficiency and productivity, but also to create a collaborative and innovative environment by strengthening the relationship between the parties.

AGROBRF covers topics such as Digital Herd Management, Digital Herd Form, Access Management, Daily Notifications and Communication Channel, Document Library for Best Practices, Feed Deliveries, Placement, Slaughter Planning and Execution Visualization, Detailed Payment and Herd Closing Information for growers and field assistants.

AGROBRF accelerates operations in many ways thanks to these topics it covers. In addition to the continuous support of the teams, personal interactions and communications, it also facilitates the workflow and daily life of our growers.

The AGROBRF platform, which is a comprehensive digital ecosystem, improves collaboration by seamlessly integrating managers, employees, partners and suppliers, making it easier to analyze, evaluate and make decisions. It functions as an interconnected platform by optimizing every aspect of our operations.

In what areas does AGROBRF benefit operations?

AGRO BRF provides benefits to both managers, field teams and growers in different ways. For example, growers receive real-time notifications about important updates such as feed delivery and payment status. This significantly increases operational efficiency. Field assistant veterinarians can use guided decision-making based on up-to-date data, providing optimized programs and advanced recommendations. Managers, on the other hand, benefit from AGROBRF's insights for data-driven choices, so that the strategies they develop are aligned with our overarching corporate goals. The holistic approach of this platform extends beyond our borders, establishing valuable connections with our business partners and suppliers.

What is the impact of this application on the ecosystem?

AGROBRF, which revolutionizes operational communication, provides real-time information flow by connecting growers, field assistants, veterinarians and managers. Thanks to this application that redefines relationships in the ecosystem, Banvit BRF has facilitated our growers' feed and equipment orders and offered more efficient payment methods.

As Banvit BRF, we have taken another step towards achieving an efficient and more integrated operation in terms of ecosystem strategy with AGROBRF. With this pioneering initiative, we have provided real values to every stakeholder in the ecosystem and have realized the transformative potential of an integrated approach.

How does the implementation of the AGROBRF application benefit customers?

Our project has not only made our growers and us’ lives easier, but has also opened up new avenues for collaboration by including our suppliers in the process. For example, the payment feature has facilitated feed and equipment transactions, providing operational savings and increasing the satisfaction of our growers.

This application, which integrates our entire ecosystem, has improved customer experiences and accelerated delivery, as well as contributing to decision-making processes with its efficiency and operational speed. This ecosystem-focused transformation has provided measurable benefits from renewing business models to meeting customer needs quickly and efficiently. By embracing the power of a harmonious ecosystem, it has helped us redefine our trajectory by defining a route for sustainable growth, high customer experiences and enhanced market penetration.

What is the percentage of growers using the AGROBRF application?

The rate of growers using our AGROBRF application in the Bandırma, Elazığ and İzmir regions where our production campuses are located has exceeded 90 percent. We aim to increase this rate to 100 percent in the coming periods.

Does the application have any benefit in reducing losses that occur during production and cultivation? Does it contribute positively to food safety?

The AGROBRF application helps reduce losses and increase performance as it provides quick access to performance information that creates alerts for our technical support team and helps growers identify problems that they cannot identify more quickly. Recording information that our growers can compare with expected business results also creates a feedback trigger, allowing observation, analysis and the definition of corrective actions.