Sülekler Neighborhood in Korkuteli has become the new address for fruit growing

In the village of Sülekler in the district of Korkuteli in Antalya, which has been unable to produce anything other than chickpeas, wheat, and barley for years due to insufficient water, the production method diversified with a solar energy system. The pumping system powered by solar energy established by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in Sülekler Village solved the water problem in the region. A well located 6 kilometers away from the nearest electricity source and not actively used was made operational with 100% solar energy through this system. Sülekler Village is now known for its gardens growing apricots, cherries, and apricots.Korkuteli Sülekler Village, where farmers have been practicing agriculture with transported water for years, could not benefit from underground water sources due to lack of electricity. With the Solar Energy System (GES) established by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Department of Agricultural Services, energy independence from the grid was achieved by providing 100% free energy support for irrigation. In the village that now has electricity thanks to the established GES, water is drawn from a depth of 80 meters through drilling and delivered to the producer’s garden through a pipeline system. Sülekler Village, where a solar-powered agricultural irrigation system, a first in Turkey, was established, turned its arid lands into irrigable areas and transformed into a fruit production center where cereal-based production was carried out.Quality was achieved in products with GESDurmuş Ünver, the Chairman of S. S. Sülekler Village Irrigation Cooperative, stated that irrigation was previously done from an open canal from the pond due to water scarcity in Sülekler Village and that an area of 600 acres could be irrigated. Mentioning that they solved the water problem in Sülekler with the Solar Energy System and pipeline supports provided by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Ünver said, ‘The pond was insufficient, the land was vast. We were planting dry crops like chickpeas, wheat, barley. We had very fertile quality lands here, but we couldn’t plant due to water scarcity. Fruits were not sufficiently irrigated due to lack of water. 40% of apricots and cherries were going for dead prices. When the product was not good, we had to turn it into fruit juice. After the GES Project, we started to produce very high-quality fruits. We turned to apricots, cherries, and apricots. We grow Turkey’s highest quality products. After the GES project, we achieved 100% quality. It contributed to us economically 100%,’ he said.Project encouraging reverse migrationProducer Durmuş Ünver also stated that due to the arid land in the region, only barley, wheat, and chickpea production could be made, and he had to leave farming, his father’s profession, and migrate to the center of Antalya. Working as a chef in Antalya, Ünver mentioned that the reason that brought him back to the village was the Solar Energy System (GES) project that Antalya Metropolitan Municipality implemented in Sülekler two years ago. ‘My apricot trees have reached this state in 2 years. There are those like me who migrated to the city and are now considering returning here. Our land is fertile now. Everything started to be very beautiful when the soil got water. Besides fruit growing, we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. We also export,’ he said.Everywhere turned into vineyards and orchardsOsman Asar, another Sülekler producer who is happy with GES, expressed his happiness by saying, ‘When GES came on the agenda, our plateau changed suddenly. Everywhere started to turn into vineyards and orchards. Places that used to have wheat are now turning into gardens. The services provided here were not limited to GES; irrigation pipes arrived, our infrastructure changed,”.