Converted a barren land used for cereal cultivation into an almond orchard, increasing the income

Seyit Erol, who works as a farmer in Yozgat, converted his 10-acre barren land where he used to grow cereals into an almond orchard. Erol aims to harvest 2 tons of product annually from his newly established almond orchard.

Farming in the village of Arpaç in Çekerek district, Seyit Erol increased his income by cultivating almonds on the barren land where he used to grow wheat and barley. Due to the high cost of barren land and irrigation, Erol couldn’t achieve the expected yield from cereals, so he decided to transform his land into an almond orchard after conducting research. In 2017, Erol combined his 10 acres of land with 600 almond seedlings, and by 2020, he harvested close to 300 kilograms of product. With the yield from the almond orchard continuing to increase, Erol expects to harvest 2 tons of product this year.

Stating that he had been planting barley and wheat on the barren land for years but turned to alternative products due to not achieving the desired yield, the entrepreneur from Arpaç village, Erol, said, ‘I am engaged in farming in my village. I established the almond orchard in 2017 and harvested 300 kilograms of almonds in 2020. We used to plant barley and wheat here before, but we couldn’t make a profit. Since the land is barren, I decided to plant almonds. It is a 10-acre area with 600 trees. The yield is very high this year. If there are no issues, I plan to harvest close to 2 tons of product.’

Erol also mentioned that the maintenance of the orchard is laborious and costly, but he enjoys doing this work as it brings in good income compared to cereals. ‘We sold almonds for 100 lira per kilogram last year. The prices for this year have not been determined yet, we will evaluate according to the situation,’ he said.

Reminding that almonds are rich in fiber, fat, and protein, Erol recommended to the public to eat a handful of almonds every day.