Tomatoes grown from local ancestral seeds by entrepreneurial women in Ayaş of Mersin province, Türkiye will be available for sale in chain markets in Ankara and Istanbul.

In Ayaş, famous for its tomatoes, female entrepreneurs who produce sauce and puree from their own fields' harvests have started planting ancestral tomato seeds in fields, exporting to Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom and some African countries, marking another milestone.

The crops harvested by the female entrepreneurs who bring together century-old seeds with the soil after years and the tomato juices they prepare will be available for sale in chain markets in Ankara and Istanbul.

Zehra Varol, the president of Ayaş Akkaya Agricultural Development Cooperative, stated to an Andalou Agency (AA) reporter that they started with 11 women farmers and now continue their work with over 30 partners.

Varol emphasized that all partners are female farmers from the village and that the cooperative was established in 2007. Since 2015, they have been producing products like sauce and scrambled eggs from organic tomatoes.

Varol also mentioned that they are now making a breakthrough by starting to plant traditional tomato seeds in the fields, which they had previously only grown in small amounts for their own needs.

Varol explained that they have been harvesting the seeds by planting small amounts in their own gardens for years to keep the traditional seeds fresh. She said they are trying to preserve the heritage entrusted to them in this way.

She also emphasized that while 80% of the tomatoes produced from these seeds are water and therefore not suitable for sauce making, they are very tasty because they are completely natural.

"Now, we have signed contracts with major chain markets. Our traditional Ayaş tomatoes will now be on market shelves. They will be available for sale in Ankara and Istanbul this year. Sales nationwide may be possible in the following years. Fresh, juicy, delicious Ayaş tomatoes will enter our citizens' tables and add flavor to their meals," she said.

"Now, our children will not miss out on the taste of tomatoes from ancestral seeds. We are happy to start growing the real Ayaş tomatoes that our grandmothers used to grow in our childhood. When you cut these tomatoes, they are white as if frost had hit them, and their flavor, aroma and taste are unmatched by any other tomato," she added.

Varol stated that they first turn the seeds into seedlings in greenhouses, and they start planting them in the fields in May. She said the harvest will be collected around Aug. 15 and put up for sale.

Varol also highlighted another feature of tomatoes from ancestral seeds, saying, "Our ancestral seeds have also been registered as a geographical indication, which is an additional pride for us."

"We look after these seedlings like our own children," said 68-year-old Fatma Uyar, vice president of the cooperative who has been farming since the age of 12. "Since my childhood, we've been planting tomatoes, tending to them like our own children. We nurture the seedlings as if they were our own. And in return, they give us tomatoes," she said.

Emphasizing that they are the heirs of traditional seeds, Uyar said they plant the tomato seedlings they have nurtured into the soil and feel the happiness of growing juicy and entirely local products as they did in their childhood.

"We care for these seedlings as if they were our own children. They are a precious part of us," she said.