About Us

Our Cooperative

S.S. Ağaköy Agricultural Development Cooperative was established in 1958 in Ağaköy, a village in Bursa's Gürsu district. The cooperative was founded by Mehmet Çelan, İsmail Ertem, Abdul Kadir Bilginer, Ahmet Mercan, Atalay Öztoygar, H. Basri Erdem, Halit Metin, Mehmet Çakın, Hüseyin Çakın, Ahmet Kocaefe, Bilal Çakın, Ahmet Özdemir, Mustafa Kocaefe, Ali Beyhan, and Raşit Göçmen on April 28, 1958, with the registry number 9598.

S.S. Ağaköy Agricultural Development Cooperative is a limited liability cooperative with changing membership and capital between real and public legal entities. It is only liable with its assets towards its creditors. The governing bodies of the cooperative are the General Assembly, Board of Directors, and Supervisory Board.

Today, the cooperative has 224 members (13 of whom are women), with a capital reaching approximately 112,000 TL, and a turnover of around 4.5 million TL as of 2021, gaining significant strength.

Our Story

Ağaköy was founded on a farm and covers an area of approximately 3000 decares. In the pre-Republic era, dry farming was practiced, with a focus on cereal production. Due to the geographical characteristics of the land, no other agricultural activities were possible. However, following the establishment of irrigation channels and investments by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and DSI (State Hydraulic Works) in the early years of the Republic, the village transitioned to vegetable farming, like other nearby villages. Between 1945-1950, the people of Ağaköy produced vegetables, and later, they shifted to producing peaches and other fruits.

During a visit by Mehmet Çelan’s son, Kemalettin Çelan, who was a lawyer in Ankara, he proposed establishing a cooperative after observing the fruit and vegetable potential in the village. The cooperative was founded with 16 people, consisting of 10 founding members and 6 backup members.

Between 1950 and 1960, the villagers earned income through vegetable and fruit production. In 1958, the cooperative was established, allowing them to market their products in large cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. By 1960-1970, they had shifted to focusing entirely on fruit production.

As fruit production increased and the supply-demand balance worked against the villagers, the cooperative planned to establish a cold storage facility in 1975. The 1,000 tons/year cold storage project was implemented in 1977 with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Credit Support Program.

Over the years, additional investments increased storage capacity, reaching 2250 tons by 1980, and later, 8,000 tons/year by 1997, with the construction of a second cold storage facility supported by state credits. This development positively impacted production and helped stabilize the market for the cooperative’s products.

In 2018, following a change in the Corporate Tax Law published in the Official Gazette on December 5, 2017 (number 30261), a second company was established under the name "Ağaköy Agricultural Development Cooperative S.S. Economic Enterprise" to handle non-member transactions.

Our Mission

To meet the various needs of our members; to contribute to the social, cultural, and economic development of the villagers, improving their welfare levels; and to create a dynamic, productive, informed, and responsible society and business structure that adapts to the modern era.

Our Vision

In the long term, we aim to elevate our members to higher levels of social, cultural, and economic development. By educating our farmers better, we will increase the diversity, yield, and quality of fruit production. We will help find new markets for our members’ products and contribute to the increase in exports. Furthermore, we aim to enhance our cooperative’s level of development, adding more variety to the services we provide, and positioning ourselves among the most advanced cooperatives.

Our Objectives

• To develop the production of all types of plant-based (fruits and vegetables) products and manage procurement, marketing, and evaluation activities related to members' needs.
• To assist in the economic and social development of our members.
• To take measures to increase fruit production and improve the quality of production.
• To contribute to the development of the agricultural industry and assist in the marketing of produced goods.
• To inform producers about new agricultural developments and technologies.
• To take measures to increase exports for the benefit of the national economy and the village community.

Our Goals

• To transition into processing industries for the products we market, establish canning and juice production facilities.
• To establish freezing and packaging facilities.
• To implement a standardization system for marketing our products.
• To set up sales stands in the city center of Bursa, and establish a fleet of refrigerated vehicles for transportation.
• To focus on increasing exports.
• To prioritize research and development investments in production and marketing.