Antalya’s arid lands yield exquisite pistachios

ANTALYA

In a drought-ridden district of Antalya in the country’s south, producers have harnessed their unproductive and fallow lands by cultivating Gaziantep's renowned pistachios, optimizing yields and attracting more farmers towards pistachio cultivation.

The Antalya Municipality's agricultural office was engaged in exploring alternative crop varieties for producers in the Korkuteli district. Given the scarcity of water and the increasing temperatures due to climate change in Korkuteli, pistachio cultivation has been explored as a viable option.

In addition to soil and water analyses, consultations were held with producers from the southeastern cities of Gaziantep, Siirt and Mardin.

Saplings brought from these regions were experimentally planted, and their adaptability to the climate was observed. The municipality initiated a project to grant 20 saplings per hectare, distributing 8,000 saplings last year.

Following feedback from productive farmers, the municipality increased the grant amount, providing necessary support for maintenance and cultivation.

Saadet Tuğrul Ay, a senior official from the municipality, stated that there are currently 500 waiting producers, expressing their intention to utilize untapped lands in the city.

"We aim to benefit from unused areas for cultivation. The saplings we planted thrive without irrigation. Climate change and drought are our main concerns. Our climate is more humid and our soil is more fertile. We observed that pistachios grow more easily here compared to Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa. Our farmers show keen interest."

Ali Şevkan, who has been farming for 35 years, shared his experience of starting to yield from the saplings they planted for experimentation. "The climatic conditions are favorable now... Seeing the fruits on the trees brings me joy. Last year, the yield was low, but the taste was exquisite.”