The Soil Fertilizer and Water Resources Central Research Institute Laboratory a member of GLOSOLAN since 2017 and has served as the NRL since then. Participation of Turkish laboratories in GLOSOLAN has gradually expanded, beginning with the İzmir Institute laboratory joining GLOSOLAN in 2019, followed by other laboratories in 2022. Today, soil analysis laboratories from ten TAGEM institutes are members of GLOSOLAN and actively contributing to and participating in its activities. Furthermore, a total of more than 20 soil analysis laboratories across the country, including public and private laboratories, are now part of GLOSOLAN. 

Addressing the challenges

This introductory national workshop was attended by TAGEM member laboratories to identify current technical challenges and improve the quality of data generated by soil analysis laboratories, many of which also cover other types of analyses. A key objective was to enhance the capacities of all laboratories by increasing inter-laboratory cooperation.

Another objective of the workshop was to explicitly define the national and international cooperation frameworks for the NRL and member laboratories under the framework of GLOSOLAN membership, while discussing activities to achieve these goals. 

The laboratories which participated in the workshop play a key role in producing soil data needed by farmers, researchers, and other stakeholders to support sustainable soil management in their respective regions. Strengthening the capacities of the laboratories is of great importance not only for improving data quality, but also for supporting food security and the conservation of natural resources.

During the opening session, Mr. Mesut Akdamar, Deputy General Director of TAGEM, highlighted that “the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been an active participant in the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) initiative since 2013, managing this process at national level”. He also “emphasized that defining the results produced by laboratories as the strongest scientific evidence for a sustainable future” and referred to laboratory representatives as "critical endpoints" shaping the country's agricultural and environmental policies. He concluded by stressing that the primary goal of the workshop was to strengthen the Turkish GLOSOLAN laboratory network and maximize coordination among national laboratories.   

Role of National Reference Laboratory

Serving as the NRL, the Soil Fertilizer and Water Resources Research Institute is a pioneering research institute in the field of agricultural research, providing services for over 70 years in soil analyses. In close cooperation with TAGEM, it plays a key role in coordinating and supporting GLOSOLAN activities.

Mr. Mahmut Sami Çiftçi, Director of the Institute of NRL, noted that “the Institute has continuously improved its laboratory capacity and data quality since the 1950s, possessing deep-rooted expertise in soil and water analysis. He described this workshop as an "advent activity" to establish closer contact between national GLOSOLAN member laboratories and plan future collaborations, reaffirming their commitment to continuing such activities on both national and international scales.

From global standards to national action

In the subsequent sessions of the workshop, participants reviewed the current structure of GLOSOLAN, the expectations from member laboratories, the responsibilities of the NRL and the past and ongoing activities.

Yi Peng, the GSP facilitator for GLOSOLAN, joined the opening session online and highlighted how “national workshops are indispensable for building trust and translating global goals into concrete actions”. He noted that “local laboratories serve as a bridge between national priorities and global initiatives, ensuring the system remains relevant to real-world conditions. He also highlighted the workshop as strong and good example of the "shared responsibility" and "strong inter-laboratory cooperation" model that GLOSOLAN seeks to promote.”

 As a central theme aligned with the workshop objectives, the NRL operates under a soil analysis quality management system and has steadily expanded the number of accredited soil parameters for over a decade. Ensuring that all laboratories adopt this system - while strengthening the existing frameworks of those already certified - remains a key institutional priority. In this context, the NRL delivered a presentation to the other participating laboratories, outlining its roadmaps for this long process, the challenges encountered, and the critical considerations involved. The presentation was followed by an exchange of views among participants. 

What’s next

During the evaluation session, participants agreed that the workshop was very fruitful and constructive. Opportunities for strengthening existing cooperation among member laboratories were explored, including prospects for future collaboration with the GLOSOLAN at both national and international levels.

It was agreed that this first national workshop marks the beginning of a sustained effort. Future editions will aim to include all national GLOSOLAN member laboratories with the objective of improving soil data quality, enhancing laboratory capacities and reinforcing Turkey’s contribution to stronger soil databases and sustainable soil management.