In Diyarbakir, Mardin and Batman, where agriculture is the locomotive sector, the rainfall in March relieved the farmers’ concerns about drought.
Producers expect precipitation in April to increase the yield.
Diyarbakir Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Mustafa Ertan Atalar said that 2 million 800 thousand decares of wheat, 600 thousand decares of barley and more than 700 thousand decares of lentils are planted in the province.
“Until March, we had a risk of drought in the region and we had taken various measures about it. However, the lack of precipitation was eliminated in March. We received 400 millimeters of precipitation per square meter in this year’s production season in our province until March 27. Currently, we do not have a problem with precipitation. It’s going pretty well.” Atalar stated that the farmers of Diyarbakır, who produce based on cereals and pulses, were adversely affected by the drought in 2021 and 2022.
“We estimate that we will exceed 1 million tons in harvest”
Atalar stated that the season will be productive if enough precipitation falls in April.
Explaining that the average yield of wheat per decare was 326 kilograms last year, Atalar noted that if it continues this year, the yield will exceed 400 kilograms.
Stating that the yield decreased to 525 thousand tons in 2021 due to the drought experienced in the province in recent years, Atalar said, “Last year, our harvest reached 750 thousand tons. We estimate that we will exceed 1 million tons if everything goes normally this year.” said.
“We forgot the drought”
Sur Agriculture Chamber Board member and farmer Mehmet Güzelsoy said that they planted 2 thousand decares of wheat, 500 decares of barley and 500 decares of lentils this year on their farmland with his family in the rural Bağpınar District of the central Sur district.
Guzelsoy stated that as farmers, they are worried about drought because there is no rain in the region for a long time, and said, “The rain in March came as a lifeline just when we started to fear. Now we have forgotten about the drought. We started to think, ‘How much more yield will we get if we get another rain? Now we sleep comfortably. ” he said.
Explaining that he obtained 250 kilograms of wheat and barley crops per decare last year due to drought, Güzelsoy said that if there is precipitation in April, it can reach 450 kilograms per decare.
Mardin
Kiziltepe Grain Trade Center and Cereals Association President Mehmet Şerif Oter said that cereals and pulses are cultivated in the city’s fertile 2.5 million decares of land.
Explaining that they were worried about drought before March, Öter said, “It has been raining very well for almost a week since the middle of March. With these rains, the crop recovered and recovered. It is now in a very, very good condition. The yield could not be achieved. Thank God that risk has disappeared this year. We are hopeful this year, hopefully it will be good. We expect a better yield and season this year than the previous two years.” used the phrases.
Referring to the importance of the precipitation they expect in April, Öter noted that this precipitation will feed the grain.
Farmer Mervan Geçgen said that they grow wheat in the fields inherited from his grandfather and father.
Explaining that the last rainfall is important in agricultural production, Geçgen stated that they will get very good yields with the April rains being at the expected level.
Gecgen said, “The areas where we have been doing dry farming for two years have not benefited much. Without these rains, we would not be able to get yield this year. I hope we will get good yields in dry agricultural areas with these rains.” he said.
Batman
Batman Chamber of Agriculture President Nizamettin Aydiş stated that 550 thousand acres of wheat, 120 thousand acres of barley and around 150 thousand acres of red lentils were planted in the city and said that the last rains satisfied the farmers.
Aydiş said, “The last rains have benefited our crops tremendously. If it rains in April, we can say that this year will be the farmer’s spring.” used the phrases.
Farmer Faysal Gönülaçar, who lives in Kuyubaşı village, stated that he planted wheat on approximately 100 decares of land and lentils in 40 decares.
Gonulacar said:
“The last rains made us smile. The winter was dry, we waited patiently for the rain and thankfully it did. If it rains towards the end of April, we expect an incredible harvest in grain this year.”
