“Turkish Food Innovation Platform” (TÜGİP), which was formed within the scope of the Project INNOFOOD on the “Development of Research and Innovation Facilities for Improving Regional Competitiveness of Food Industry”, started its activities with 16 different online workshops where regional and local organizations and institutions gathered and discussed the needs, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the food sector.
The workshops hosted by TÜBİTAK MAM Food Institute allowed to make a detailed analysis and evaluation of the food sector regionally in presence of INNOFOOD Project specialists, and gathered around 300 participants including 67 from Development Agencies, 58 from TTOs and Technopolises, 32 from Trade and Industry Chambers, 17 from Exporters' Associations, 8 from Public Research Institutes, 6 from Agricultural Producers’ Associations, 6 from other public organizations and 100 from private organizations. The private sector participants were from a wide range of sectors including 21 participants from Milk and Milk Products, 13 from Confectionary, 12 from Meat and Meat Products, 11 from Cereals, 8 from Beverages, 8 from Dried Fruits, 7 from Convenience Food, 6 from Sea Food, 5 from Fruit and Vegetable, 4 from Spices, 3 from Oil and 2 from Bee Products Sectors.
The workshops will be completed in January with a regional workshop to cover Gebze and its vicinity. With the data obtained as a result of the workshops in a month, regional aspects -either positive or needing development- will be reviewed with SWOT Analyses and overall assessments; and Turkey’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in Food will be created.
