Producers are being educated in Mersin

Mersin Metropolitan Municipality provided training for farmers in Silifke district who produce traditionally. Farmers growing products such as almonds, walnuts, tomatoes, wheat, grapes gained new information on the importance of using modern systems in agriculture and their advantages. Continuing to support farmers with agricultural support and incentive projects, the Metropolitan Municipality also continues its training activities for farmers to produce more effectively. In order to address the negative impacts of climate and temperature changes on production, changes in production approach due to technological advancements, and efficient use of water resources, the Metropolitan Municipality organized training for farmers in Çaltıbozkırlı, a district of Silifke, upon the request of the farmers.Within the framework of the training provided by the Agricultural Services Department at the historical Çaltıbozkır Sina Primary School, information was given to farmers about land structure and water relationship, the importance of using adequate water in the soil, use of irrigation systems, irrigation needs and water consumption in plants, drainage, and irrigation techniques. Farmers who had been practicing agriculture with traditional methods in the past and switched to irrigated agriculture in Çaltıbozkır in the last 10 years acquired new information on the importance and advantages of using modern systems in agriculture contrary to the wrong methods through the provided training.”We are not in favor of wasting even a drop of water”Serdar Dirik, the Head of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation Branch of the Metropolitan Municipality, stated that they provide agricultural support in line with the demands of the farmers. Dirik expressed that they provided training to farmers upon the request of Çaltıbozkır Irrigation Cooperative, stating, “As known, 74% of the irrigation water sources in our country are used for agricultural irrigation. In the upcoming years, the water issue will be somewhat challenging for our country. Our country is now among the countries with limited irrigation. In this respect, the importance of agricultural irrigation is very significant. We particularly value agricultural irrigation. Therefore, we provide support for irrigation pipe to be used for agricultural irrigation in our villages,” he said.Dirik emphasized that they provided a total of 355 kilometers of irrigation pipe support to farmers in the last 5 years and will continue to provide 100 kilometers of irrigation pipe support each year. Dirik stated, “We are particularly trying to support closed system irrigation facilities. Because we know the importance of water. We are not in favor of wasting even a drop of water,” he said.”Farmers need new knowledge and education”Mehmet Asım Özçalık, the President of Çaltıbozkır Neighborhood Education, Culture, Promotion, Development, and Solidarity Association, stated that farmers in Çaltıbozkır have switched to irrigated agriculture in the last 10 years and therefore they need new knowledge and education. Therefore, Özçalık stated that they applied for training, saying, “We believe that our farmers need to be informed about irrigation in order to eliminate their deficiencies, be able to produce more efficiently and with higher quality. In the past, we conducted studies on medicinal and aromatic plants, provided courses, and training. I believe that these trainings are necessary for our farmers to be more knowledgeable, successful, and productive,” he said.Çaltıbozkır Neighborhood Headman Ahmet Sarı mentioned the activities carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality in Çaltıbozkır and stated that the training provided was beneficial. Emin Uçar, one of the farmers who attended the training, stated that he found the training very useful and requested the continuation of such support. Producer Fatma Uyguç expressed that she learned new information through the training, while Atilla Tömbül emphasized the importance of conscious agriculture.