In Samsun, a city in the Black Sea region of Turkey, farmers have just planted watermelon and melon seeds for greenhouse growing. Producers in Samsun's Bafra district have complained about the high input costs.
Bafra Chamber of Agriculture visited producers to hear about their difficulties. Ali Calik, a farmer said: "Last year, watermelon was good however prices were not as high as we expected. This year we expect higher prices, but production costs are high too. Watermelon saplings cost 1,70 Turkish Lira (0,25 Euro) last year, and now they cost 2,20 to 2,60 Turkish Lira (0,30 to 0,40 Euro)."
Mehmet Duman, another farmer said: "We have financial difficulties. Fertilizer is expensive, diesel is expensive. The daily wage costs 100 Turkish Lira (15 Euro). We need state support."
Osman Tosuner, the president of the chamber said that producers started to plant watermelon and melon seeds in an area of 4 thousand hectares.
"There is an input cost of 4 thousand to 5 thousand Turkish Lira (594 to 743 Euro) to grow melons in an area of 0,1 hectare. We aim to produce high quality melons and watermelons. We expect to harvest our greenhouse melons and watermelons at the latest in mid-July." said Tosuner.
Bafra Valley is Turkey's one of the most important agricultural areas. The watermelon and melon planting started in April 11 and ended in May 12. While half of the field is used for greenhouse production, the other half is used for open-field production.
Source: IHA