July 15, 2009
San Diego, California—The Ministry of Agriculture in Turkey received a Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award today at the 2009 ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC) in San Diego, California. The organization received this honor for its vision, leadership, and innovative use of ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology. The ministry’s General Directorate of Agriculture Products and Development was selected from more than 300,000 organizations worldwide and recognized during today's SAG awards ceremony for making extraordinary contributions to our global society. Directorate personnel from different professions work under the structure of the Remote Sensing and Agricultural Lands Information Center (UTABIM), leading to operators working in a GIS environment with ESRI technology. In collaboration with the Provincial Directorates, essential spatial data with tabular information related to agriculture and other resources is integrated, maintained, and served to users and producers. Since the comprehensive data is kept in digital format and allows users to make queries as needed, services provided to customers—such as farmers, farmer associations, directorates, other governmental institutions, and more—can be exported from the computer system, presented, and analyzed visually. The data can also be cross-checked with updated images through various remote sensing and field study techniques. The UTABIM has been using GIS since the center was established in 2006. Future plans include establishing an integrated administration and control system and land parcel identification system. "Our world is being challenged by rapid change," says Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. "GIS technology is increasingly being deployed as a way to understand the issues facing our society. At ESRI, we are always extremely impressed with the work of our users and want to recognize their efforts with our Special Achievement in GIS Award. Their work is a great example of using GIS to improve our world." GIS combines computer hardware, software, and data to collect, manage, and analyze geographic information. Virtually any information can be linked to a geographic location, helping people see that information as part of a complete picture. With GIS, users can view relationships, processes, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. Whether they are selecting routes to transport ethanol or studying landslides, GIS helps them see how the world works and changes. More than one million people across the globe rely on GIS to solve problems and make better decisions by thinking and planning geographically. Other organizations being honored at the ESRI UC include the Artesia Water Company, Montana State Library, NASA Langley Research Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Yosemite National Park, City of Madrid, DHL Express, Polytechnic of Namibia, Victoria Police in Australia, and the Grammar School at Leeds.
To learn more about the 2009 SAG Award winners and to view their photos and project descriptions and images, visit www.esri.com/sag. More information about ESRI and its GIS solutions can be found at www.esri.com.
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