PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, continues to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future with the positive impact it creates through its value chain, agriculture and the options it offers in line with its PepsiCo Positive (Pep+) strategy. PepsiCo, which makes significant investments in agriculture to create a sustainable food system, also contributes to the development of the agricultural ecosystem through its collaborations. PepsiCo also leads the way in further expanding the positive impact to be created in agriculture by bringing together stakeholders of the agricultural ecosystem in different meetings and platforms.

With this understanding, the event hosted by PepsiCo Türkiye and the Sustainability Academy 3. Positive Future in Agriculture SymposiumStakeholders of the agricultural ecosystem came together in Istanbul. With the main title “A Sustainable Future in Our Food Systems: How Can We Reshape It?” At the symposium held inTransforming the Food Supply Chain from Farmer to Consumer for a Positive Future", “Protecting Resources, Carrying the World to the Future”, “The Indispensable Element of the Food Supply Chain: Human” ve “Conversation with Demet Evgar: Re-Growing Hope with Social Responsibility Projects” Four different panels were held under the following titles.  

PepsiCo Türkiye General Manager Evrim Şen ve The 3rd Positive Future in Agriculture Symposium started with the opening speech of Murat Sungur Bursa, President of the Sustainability Academy.The host of the event was journalist and author Ilgaz Gürsoy. Officials from the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Investment Office, Sustainability Academy, leading companies of Turkey and civil society organizations contributed to the construction of a positive future in agriculture with their speeches.

The symposium was moderated by Sustainability Academy Board Member Semra Sevinç. “Transformation for a Positive Future in the Food Supply Chain from Farmer to Consumer” In the session titled Barbaros Gunay, Senior Customer Relationship Manager at Microsoft, KAGIDER Board Member Beyza Beyzade Berkol, Metro Corporate Relations Manager Dr. Aslı Duran Özcan on the food supply chain They shared important posts about the subject. Moderated by journalist and author Ilgaz Gürsoy “Protecting Resources with Sustainability, Carrying the World to the Future” In the session titled Konca Çalkıvik, Secretary General of the Sustainable Development Association, Muhittin Aslan, Director of Investment Supports Unit of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey ve Mehmet Erdem Yaşar, Deputy President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Türkiye, They talked about what could be done to ensure the sustainability of resources. Moderated by Refika Birgül “The Indispensable Element of the Food Supply Chain: Human” in the session Stefan Cahill, World Food Programme Türkiye Representative ve Zena Ni, Deputy Representative of CARE Türkiye Dhuinn-Bhig They had a nice conversation about how to touch people in food and agriculture. At the symposium Lay's brand ambassador ve UN Women Turkey's goodwill ambassador Demet Evgar, chatted with Didem Esmer, a farmer from Hatay who rekindles social hope.

PepsiCo Türkiye General Manager Evrim Şen: “We are increasing our impact on positive agriculture day by day with the collaborations we have established.”

He said that he believes that the messages, concrete solution suggestions and good examples given at the symposium we organized will be a new light of hope for everyone in this period when sustainability is important. PepsiCo Türkiye General Manager Evrim Şen said, “As PepsiCo, we carry out many projects for a sustainable life and we attach importance to coming together with our stakeholders and exchanging ideas at events like today. In line with our sustainability-focused PepsiCo Positive strategy, we have many good examples under the titles of Positive Agriculture, Positive Value Chain and Positive Options. In addition to the many studies we carry out under the title of Positive Value Chain, we carry out projects especially to support the reduction of the effects of the climate crisis. As one of the first countries in the world to reach the goal of 100% renewable electricity within PepsiCo, we also became the first company in Turkey to carry out food transportation by electric train in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. With the transportation carried out by electric train on a route exceeding 1600 km in a round trip, we reduced carbon emissions by 83 percent compared to transportation by road. In addition, within the scope of Positive Agriculture, we carry out contracted agriculture with over 20 farmers in 50.000 cities in Turkey, on a total area of ​​200 decares. We are working to increase our impact on positive agriculture every day with the collaborations we have established. As PepsiCo, we will continue to work for a sustainable life and a safe food network by developing these good examples even further today and tomorrow, just as we did yesterday. We are very happy to continue to be together with our valued stakeholders, who are our greatest strength in this journey.”

Murat Sungur Bursa: “Producing enough food to feed the world’s population is only possible by updating our food systems and increasing conscious consumption.”

Murat Sungur, President of Sustainability Academy, Bursa In his opening speech, he expressed his pleasure in continuing this valuable collaboration with PepsiCo and invited all stakeholders of the sector to take action. In his speech, Sungur said, “Today, we unfortunately observe that some agricultural practices have a serious impact on the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of our valuable natural resources. 10 in 1 people in the world is hungry. Almost 30 percent of the world's population cannot access healthy food. In contrast, 30 percent of the food produced in the world is wasted while still in the field. The production of enough food to feed the world's population can only be possible by updating our food systems and increasing conscious consumption. However, in order not only to meet the natural need of nutrition but also for people to live a healthy life, agriculture needs to be done with different practices, as we can hear examples of today, and the transition to sustainable food systems needs to be accelerated. If we do not make food systems sustainable, focusing on the sustainability of other areas will not be of much use to us. We talk about the sustainability of a life that does not exist. "Our top priority is to encourage everyone to take action by discussing all these emergencies and future risks with stakeholders and to move forward with a solution-focused approach. The solution-focused suggestions, good practices and calls for cooperation shared at the symposium organized for this purpose today will also make significant contributions to accelerating change," he said.

“Transformation for a Positive Future in the Food Supply Chain from Farmer to Consumer” In the session titled Barbaros Gunay, Senior Customer Relationship Manager at Microsoft, KAGIDER Board Member Beyza Beyzade Berkol, Metro Corporate Relations Manager Dr. Aslı Duran Özcan They made important statements regarding the use of artificial intelligence technologies in agriculture.  Barbaros Gunay, Senior Customer Relationship Manager at Microsoft“The use of artificial intelligence technologies in agriculture enables more efficient use of resources by enabling precision farming techniques, automating labor-intensive tasks and helping farmers make more informed decisions with data-based insights, thus significantly increasing productivity by reducing farmers’ operational costs and environmental waste,” he said.

KAGIDER Board Member Beyza Beyzade Berkol, He emphasized that digital agricultural technologies strengthen women entrepreneurs’ participation in the economy by increasing the efficiency in agricultural production, and that they enable them to be pioneers of sustainable development. He underlined that they regularly conduct food and beverage research in order to develop their business partners in line with changing consumer trends and to ensure that customers can respond to consumer demands. Metro Corporate Communications Manager Dr. Aslı Duran Özcan, “The products we call geographically indicated products are our cultural heritage. If we cannot protect the product and the producer, it is not possible to protect Turkish cuisine and ensure the sustainability of Turkish cuisine. Therefore, raising the awareness of producers and consumers is of critical importance,” he said.

Muhittin Aslan: “In the food and agriculture sectors, Turkey is by far the country that attracts the most investment in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa region.” 

“Protecting Resources with Sustainability, Carrying the World to the Future” In the session titled Konca Çalkıvik, Secretary General of the Sustainable Development Association, Muhittin Aslan, Director of Investment Supports Unit of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey ve Mehmet Erdem Yaşar, Deputy Chairman of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Türkiye, They shared things that will carry the world to a better future. Muhittin Aslan, Director of Investment Supports Unit of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, He said: “As the Presidency Investment Office, we are carrying out comprehensive studies to attract and support sustainable investments in the agriculture and food sectors to our country. In the Turkey International Direct Investment (FDI) Strategy (2024-2028) document prepared by our institution with the support of all relevant public and private sector stakeholders, “climate-friendly international direct investments” have been determined as one of the priority areas we want to attract to our country. On the other hand, investments focused on circular economy and that will develop our country’s R&D and innovation infrastructure in the agriculture and food sectors are also among our priorities, and such investments will further advance our country’s strong position in these sectors. As you know, Turkey is the global leader in the production of many agricultural products and is a production center integrated with world markets with an export volume of approximately 30 billion dollars. In addition, as stated in our FDI Strategy, which was recently announced to the public, Turkey is by far the country that attracts the most investments in the food and agriculture sectors in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa region. Turkey, with its geographical advantages, qualified human resources and strong infrastructure, is a global and regional center in the agriculture and food sectors, and offers significant opportunities for sustainable investment projects in areas such as smart agricultural technologies, recycling and smart water management. As the Presidential Investment Office, we continue to work in cooperation with international investors to further strengthen Turkey’s global and regional position in these sectors by introducing this potential to the global business world.”

in November 2025-2029 Stating that their 5-year strategic plan covering the years was announced, Mehmet Erdem Yaşar, Deputy Chairman of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development TürkiyeUnderlining that the prominent topics in the strategic plan are increasing the integration of renewable energy, resource efficiency, carbon neutrality and employment, he said that women's employment in particular plays a major role in the context of agricultural development.

Emphasizing that sustainable agricultural practices are essential to combat climate change and ensure the conservation of resources amid increasing population pressure, Konca Çalkıvik, Secretary General of the Sustainable Development Association“As SKD Turkey, we contribute to our country's sustainable development goals with the projects we develop to increase water efficiency in agricultural production, disseminate innovative agricultural practices and support digitalization,” he said. 

Moderated by Refika Birgül “The Indispensable Element of the Food Supply Chain: Human” In the session titled Stefan Cahill, World Food Programme Türkiye Representative ve Zena Ni Dhuinn-Bhig, Deputy Representative of CARE Türkiye, They made statements emphasizing the importance of the human element in food and agriculture. WFP sees agriculture not only as a way to produce food, but also as a force that fosters hope, resilience and prosperity. Stephen Cahill, WFP Country Director and RepresentativeBy supporting farmers with sustainable practices and building strong partnerships, they can transform today’s challenges into a future of food security and prosperity, he said.

Drawing attention to the importance of CARE’s work integrating women into agricultural developments and decision-making Zena Ni Dhuinn-Bhig, Deputy Representative of CARE Türkiye, underlined that this would be beneficial not only for women but also for Turkey’s broader goal of food security and sustainable agricultural development. “Offering women equal leadership opportunities, financial support and jobs of the future is the best investment we can make for sustainable growth and a successful future in the long term,” Dhuinn-Bhig said.

At the end of the symposium Lay's brand ambassador and at the same time UN Women Turkey's goodwill ambassador Demet Evgarwith Didem Esmer, a farmer in the earthquake zone “Rekindling Hope with Social Responsibility Projects” came together in a panel. Evgar, who said that she came from a family that has been farming for four generations, stated that it was a responsibility to be with the farmers in Hatay after the destruction caused by the earthquake. Didem Esmer, who said that she lost hope after the earthquake, said, “Thanks to Lay's Joint Action, Re-Bereket Project, there is no resentment towards agriculture. Now, in my circle, the hope and enthusiasm for work has been strengthened again among the farmers in the region.”

Source: HORECA TREND and PepsiCo Türkiye