The production of 900 tons of tomatoes in 10 months of the year in the hydroponic greenhouse established on an area of 30 decares in Elazig not only became a job for women but also started to meet the needs of neighboring provinces, especially Elazig.
In the soilless greenhouse, which is located on an area of 30 decares within the borders of Degirmenonu village of the center, 3-4 tons of tomatoes per day and 900 tons of tomatoes per year are produced. Cluster tomatoes, which were harvested for 10 months in the ongoing production during the Corona Virus (Covid-19) epidemic, started to occupy an important place in meeting the need for tomatoes from Malatya and neighboring provinces, especially Elazig.
Agricultural Engineer Furkan Akarsu, who stated that they are doing soilless agriculture on 30 decares of land, said, “We only cultivate tomatoes. The cluster tomato is a Dutch variety. After shaping the seeds we bought from the Netherlands in viols in our nurseries in Antalya, we plant them in the sapling period.”
Stating that they can produce products for 10 months of the year because it is soilless agriculture, Akarsu stated that after the harvest, they take the leaves of the products and make them redden, and they process them in a way to prepare them for continuous harvest.
Agricultural Engineer Ayse Merve Ozdemir, who gave information about soilless agriculture, said, “There will be no yield in soil agriculture when the nutrients are constantly consumed by the plant. When this situation recurs in the 3rd and 4th years, the fertility of the soil will decrease and we will not be able to obtain the yield as we want.”
“LOWER WATER CONSUMPTION”
“Water consumption is one of our most important issues,” said Agricultural Engineer Ayse Merve Ozdemir, “There is already a worldwide water shortage, and when we consider drought, less water is consumed in soilless agriculture. In other words, approximately 1 in 4 water is consumed.”
Stating that they employ about 25 people, Ozdemir said, “They come from nearby villages. Most of them are women, I support women’s work, they obtain their own income sources. We have workers that are 25-year-old young daughters, and we also have 50-60-year-old working sisters.”
Source: NTV / Translated by Irem Yildiz