The Current State Of The Project
The current project stage involves BirleÅŸik Seracılık ve Ticaret Üretim A.Åž. being awarded the tender. The first hurdle conditions include reactivating the 2,000 m2 R&D greenhouse and marking and securing the placement of the first greenhouse within 90 days of the tender award, with the first deadline set for November 2023. Official land topographic measurement has commenced, and the application for the first grant has been filed. Negotiations with masterplan engineers are underway, along with building and hiring for the advisory board.
General Labour
In the realm of agricultural activities, the highest employment rates are typically found within the domain of next-generation, high-tech greenhouse operations. The keen interest in cultivating high- yield crops within these advanced greenhouses drives an upsurge in employment opportunities. Anticipated employment figures are outlined as follows: 1. Blue-collar personnel within the greenhouse: One worker per every 1,000 square meters, totaling 350 individuals for an expansive 388,000 square meter investment. 2. White-collar personnel within the greenhouse: One professional per every 10,000 square meters, adding up to 40 staff members for the 388,000 square meter investment. 3. Maintenance personnel for the Green Energy System (GES) : five personal for every 5 megawatts, aggregating to 15 individuals for a 150-megawatt investment. When considering auxiliary sectors such as security, transportation, maintenance/repair, and service, among others, the estimated overall count of direct employment reaches approximately 500 individuals. In light of this, it is envisaged that this particular investment will directly impact a total of 2000 individuals
Related Employment
High-tech agricultural activities not only benefit their own sector but also provide opportunities for employment in various other sectors. We can illustrate this with a few examples:Transportation Sector: Approximately 30 truckloads of products are transported weekly, generating employment in the transportation sector.Fuel Sector: The transportation of goods, service vehicles, and other equipment necessitates fuel, impacting the fuel sector.Facility Maintenance and Repair: The maintenance and repair of facilities such as greenhouses, solar energy plants (GES), packaging facilities, and cold storage units create job opportunities in related sectors.
Invesment Highlights
Business Highlights
ESG Highlights
Womens labour
A remarkable 85% of the greenhouse workforce comprises women. This predominantly stems from the fact that many tasks within the greenhouse setting necessitate manual labor, and women tend to exhibit a heightened sensitivity in handling plants. With the construction of a greenhouse spanning a total area of 388,000 square meters in the planned investment region, we anticipate providing direct employment opportunities for at least 325 women, comprising 300 blue-collar and 25 white-collar positions. In AkÅŸ ehir, the gender distribution among the population stands at 51% female and 49% male, indicating a 1.3% staff needed-to-total female population ratio given akÅŸehir regions significant involvement in agricultural production, we foresee no challenges in staffing, as the current female population actively participates in agricultural activities.
Project phase breakdown is expected to be shaped by several key trends and developments as we move forward. While it's impossible to predict the future with absolute certainty, here are some trends and areas of innovation that are likely to play a significant role in the future of agriculture:
- 1. **Project phase breakdown**: It has been discussed to breakdown the erection of the 350.000 m2 greenhouse in phases. This will allow for the logistics and sales channels to mature. It has not been decided how to break down the phases.
- 2. **Technology**: The group has investments in other companies, and start-ups, and it is planned to activate these talents to develop technologies for the project. In discussions are sensors to monitor production, software to trace plants well being, scanning plants for illness etc.
- 3. **Solar PV**: The tender award includes rights to install solar PV which will produce the energy needed for the production. It is also discuss to add battery storage for night operations, and power-cut prevention
- 4. **Open Field Farming**: The awarded land is in excess of what is needed for the green houses, and as the land is fertile for other agriculture cultivations, it is discussed to plant farm trees, such as cherry, avocado, almond, berries and other plants which are native to the region.
- 5. **Animal Farming**: Adjacent to the awarded land is forest, which invites for animal farming. The vegetation is suitable for goats and sheep.
- 6. **Waste re-generation**: During the production trimming of the plants will generate large amounts of vegetation waste, which can be utilized for energy production, or animal feed.
- 7. **Cold Storage**: A part of the project is to erect large capacity cold storage for own use, as well as for neighboring farms use. This is considered an adjacent spinoff business
- 8. **Geothermal Water**: It is estimated that the reserves of geothermal water on the awarded area is sufficient to supply other farmers too. This is also considered an adjacent spinoff business.
- 9- **Processing**: The sale of fresh produce may be limited and at times risky, which introduced the idea of processing. This could be to dry, freeze or by other means prepare the produce into products that has value in the markets.
All items above are a part of the project, but open to be discussed with lenders as each item will have an effect on the financial planning, and need for funds. The focus of the group is to comply to the initial commitments in the award, and all items above is considered a part of the master plan to be developed with
Growing demand: Growing population coupled with increasing urbanisation in numerous cities (UN estimate 68% of consumers to live in cities by 2050 compared to 55% now) means higher demand for food with less farmland for agriculture. Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that 80% of food consumption in urban areas could be used using vertical farming technologies;
Sales channels and seasonality: BST Agri benefit from established sales channels where majority of the sales is to continent Europe. The location of existing DaZe facilities and new BST Agri facilities provide longer access to sunlight meaning a higher amount of production between October to May when demand in Europe is high and supply in the continent is low;
Hard currency income: a key benefit of sales to exports to Europe is the revenues are in hard currency whereby majority of the costs are in TRY. This provides a natural hedge to the operations and immunised from fx volatility that is usually associated with corporates in Turkiye;
Premium pricing: research suggests that consumers globally are willing to pay a premium price for sustainable food and high-quality products sell at a premium price that result with significant returns for investors globally in vertical farming;
High productivity: vertical farming is highly autonomous, and the aquatic/soilless solution of hydroponic production means more oxygen is available to plant roots compared to traditional farming. Various research reports suggest globally vertical farming enhance crop yields at 20-30x compared to traditional farming. BST Agri has identified diversified locations to maximised access to sunlight during different seasons that would enhance crop yields compared to traditional farming. Turkiye is key in that respect as it has higher intensity sunlight compared to other key markets (for eg. Turkiye has 1750 Jul/cm2 daily average sunlight radiation vs Netherlands’ c. 1250 Jul/cm2);
Predictable quality and reduced operational risk: vertical farming is less prone to outside factors or extreme weather events as the production takes place in a closed and controlled environment therefore provide higher and consistent quality;
Lower capital expenditure in Turkiye: initial CAPEX requirements for hydroponic farming sit comfortably lower at c. $75/sqm (including land acquisition cost but excluding geothermal CAPEX) compared to c. $160/sqm in Europe. Main benefits are driven by access to longer duration of sunlight, less need of HVAC cooling systems by selection of suitable land plot;
Cost of energy and labour: cost of energy is a significant contributor to the general cost of operations. BST Agri enhances its profitability materially by switching to renewable resources and using its own geothermal wells. Majority of our competitors in Europe use carbon-based fuels and natural gas are used to heat the greenhouses and as the cost of energy becomes exponentially more expensive due to the current geopolitical environment the producers in Europe are becoming less competitive Investment highlights
Vertical farming addresses water scarcity: hydroponics where plants grow in nutrient-water solution require up to c. 15x less water than conventional farming. This is essential considering agriculture currently makes up c. 70% of fresh water usage and looks set to rise given the expected increase in food production with a growing population; renewable and sustainable energy: we only use geothermal energy from our own wells to heat our production facilities and only use recyclable materials in packaging. This sits opposite to the majority of the vertical farming facilities in Europe and the US, which have a high reliance on fossil fuel-based energy with a higher carbon footprint. BST Agri’s full utilization of geothermal energy is key to ensure our environmental sustainability goals are achieved; women workforce: we continuously support women workforce whereby 95% of BST Agri’s workforce consist of women, and we are committed to affirmative actions when choosing our team members. Furthermore, we are investing in our own academy to train our own workforce and local farmers that will be a role model for all the growers not only locally but also internationally; Greater food safety and carbon footprint: hydroponic farming does not require soil and hence does not require pesticides or chemicals (these are traditionally used to prevent food loss due to diseases, insects, and weeds, however associated with soil degradation and negative impact on biodiversity and human health). Furthermore, production relies less on the need for fertilizers, which are carbon