In the central province of Konya and Batman in the southeast of Turkey, strawberry cultivation is being actively promoted to enhance agriculture and farmer incomes. The districts of Hüyük in Konya and Sason in Batman are at the forefront, with their organically grown strawberries in the fertile Anatolian soil. This initiative, supported by provincial and district agricultural directorates and municipalities through the distribution of free seedlings, aims at rural development and countering urban migration. Hüyük has become a model project, with strawberry cultivation area now exceeding 20,000 acres from an initial few thousand.
Intermediary companies are involved in international sales, but there is a push for government support for direct exports. "Good yield and high price return from a small area please the farmer. As an alternative production, it has an increasing momentum in recent years. We also request support for export or processing without intermediaries," stated Ertuğrul Zedef, president of Hüyük's Agricultural Chamber. In Sason, strawberries offer a profitable alternative to tobacco, with the harvest season promising good yields.
Nizamettin Aydiş, president of the Batman Chamber of Agriculture, noted the growing recognition of Sason strawberries and their contribution to revitalizing the land and attracting new producers. Organic strawberry cultivation is seen as a key to economic revitalization in rural areas, with the first strawberries from Mersin's Silifke district reaching the market, indicating a range of prices based on quality.
Source: hurriyetdailynews.com