Mahmut Kılıç is a researcher and practitioner working in the fields of agricultural development and the conservation of heirloom and local seeds. He was born in 1980. He completed his undergraduate education at the Faculty of Business Administration of Sakarya University and earned his master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management from the Gebze Institute of Technology. Throughout and after his academic education, he received extensive training in agricultural development and seed production, specializing in these areas.
For over thirty years, he has been conducting studies aimed at the conservation, multiplication, and intergenerational transfer of heirloom and local seeds. Carrying out both academic and applied work on heirloom seeds, Mahmut Kılıç maintains a comprehensive seed bank and archive comprising more than 1,000 heirloom seed varieties collected from different regions of Türkiye. Within this scope, he works on the documentation, classification, preservation, and sustainable propagation of seeds.
He has carried out heirloom seed multiplication initiatives in collaboration with local producers, farmers, and volunteers. In cooperation with numerous civil society organizations and political parties, he has organized free heirloom seed-sharing projects, field studies, information meetings, and awareness-raising events. He also delivers seminars, talks, and training programs on heirloom seeds, food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, and local production.
He has held managerial positions in various civil society organizations and political structures. He currently serves as a manager in an internationally active humanitarian organization and continues his work with a focus on agricultural development and heirloom seed conservation.
Mahmut Kılıç is married and has two children.