Turkey’s first paddy factory was established in 1926, upon the instruction of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in the district where paddy cultivation was carried out on approximately 10 thousand decares of land.
Famous for its taste, Tosya rice stands out with its geographical indication registered “Sarıkılçık” type.
In addition to “Sarıkılçık”, “Yaşar”, “Maratelli” and “Osmancık” rice varieties are grown in the fields that are irrigated by the snow water flowing from the Ilgaz Mountains.
After the preparations started in April, the farmers divide the fields into sections called “pans” for paddy production, and then water these areas.
After the water is given, the seeds are sown on the fields that are leveled with the method called keşan with a tractor. The care of the paddy, which is also given pesticides and fertilizers, continues until the harvest. Harvest begins in paddy after a maintenance period of approximately 4 months.
İlhan Demirci, who is a farmer in Ortalıca village of Tosya, said that paddy seeds started to meet with the soil in the district.
Stating that they scatter the stems left over from the last year before the spring comes, Demirci said, “Then we applied it twice, then we fertilized it. We applied it again after the fertilizer. Now we are making a keşan in places called pans for rice planting. We level the soil so that the rice seeds can take root in the soil. Preparations are quite good. going.” said.
Explaining that the spring months are a bit rainy and therefore the preparation process is a bit difficult, Demirci said, “The weather is nice right now. I am cultivating paddy on 100 decares of land. It is a profession we learned from my father, I have been doing this job for 30 years. If the weather goes well, especially in summer and autumn, if it is hot. The product is good.” he said.
Farmer Ali Uzun, on the other hand, stated that he is 68 years old and has been producing paddy since his childhood. used the phrases.
Mahir Sarı, headman of Çevlik Village, pointed out that paddy is important for the regional economy and said:
“In our village, paddy is cultivated on 1500 decares of land. We are harvesting at the end of September. After that, we will spray and fertilize. Then we will wait for the form. Tosya is the place where the first paddy factory was established. Rice has been produced here for more than 100 years. Paddy is very important to us, and we do this too. We continue to do so.”
