The Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry has distributed some 4 million domestic seedlings and seeds to the local farmers in Istanbul and is expected to continue its support to the producers in the upcoming season, an official stated on Monday.
Through the project dubbed "Effective Utilization of Agricultural Lands" (TAKE) led by the General Directorate of Plant Production under the ministry, agricultural production has commenced on approximately 4.5 million hectares (11.12 million acres) of previously idle, fallow or unused lands over three years.
Since 2021, the ministry has been implementing the project with the aim of increasing plant-based production through different techniques on idle lands across all 81 provinces.
Taking into account climate change in these regions, the project plans to enhance the production of cereals, legumes and oilseed crops using appropriate varieties.
In areas unsuitable for conventional agriculture, high-value plant species are prioritized, and up to 75% of subsidized seedlings and seeds are provided to producers across all 81 provinces to increase their production.
Furthermore, the project aims to reduce post-harvest losses and increase added value by establishing primary production post-drying or processing facilities, grafting native plant species present in their natural ecosystems, and implementing techniques such as variety changes to increase yield per unit area.
Between 2021 and 2022, the project successfully achieved its goals with a budget of TL 505 million ($18.66 million), covering approximately 3.4 million hectares for planting, cultivation and grafting activities.
In the spring of this year, activities were carried out on 1.1 million hectares with a budget of TL 310 million. The project continues with autumn plantings.
Ahmet Yavuz Karaca, the director of the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) recalled that the project began in 2021 by distributing some 325,000 seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, eggplants and peppers.
Following the success in the first year, they distributed around 3 million seedlings to farmers last year.
"In addition to the TAKE project, we have carried out the distribution of domestic and national sunflower seeds. We distributed seeds of wheat, barley, oats and canola, achieving significant yields," Karaca said.
Highlighting that Istanbul, with a population of 16 million and both local and foreign visitors, receives fruits and vegetables from 77 different provinces Karaca mentioned the incentives undertaken for the purpose of reducing this dependency and promoting urban agriculture, by increasing their projects, with particular emphasis placed on vegetables.
"We have developed a project by producing seedlings from our own ancestral seeds that we received from women in our two villages. We distributed dried pepper seedlings here. Maybe it has never been heard of in Istanbul, but we did it. Again in our Şile region, we established Türkiye’s first agricultural development cooperative for medicinal and aromatic plants," he noted.
Within the TAKE Project in 2022, they implemented 39 projects, distributing around 2.5 million lettuce and curly endive seedlings for winter vegetables, Karaca told AA.
Referring to the distribution of over 4 million seedlings this year, all of which were developed from domestic and national seeds by the General Directorate of Research and Policies (TAGEM), Karaca noted they anticipate this figure to increase in the next year, owing to excessive demand and high yields.
Karaca, recalling the statement of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the COVID-19 pandemic that "not a single inch of land will be left unsown," noted that the mentioned project began in response to this. He emphasized that the project has significantly increased production in Istanbul.
"Many farmers in numerous areas who wouldn't have cultivated have started cultivation, which led to increased yields per unit area. We have achieved a record in wheat production this year. Looking at the yields from the distributed seeds, we have obtained yields of 700 to 900 kilograms per decare. These are some of the highest yields in Türkiye," Karaca explained.
Stressing the strategic importance of agriculture, Karaca pointed out that 17% of Istanbul's land area is agricultural land, and their aim is to utilize all of this land for production.