Muğla Strawberry Project Boosts Rural Production, Employment

The "Muğla Strawberry Project," implemented in Muğla by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to bring idle agricultural lands into production, has led to an approximately 3.5-fold increase in production areas.

The project, which aims to cultivate high value-added products on small and fragmented agricultural lands, sought to increase the participation of women farmers in production, support family incomes, and reduce rural-to-urban migration.

Within the scope of the project, launched in 2018 with the support of the Governorship by the Muğla Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, new strawberry gardens have been established on an area of 824 decares to date. These efforts have provided employment for 1648 people, while the strawberry production area across the province increased from 457 decares before the project to 1614 decares.

An average of 4,100 tons of strawberries are produced annually in the city. An economic volume of approximately 820 million liras has been generated with the average selling price of the product. A total budget of 18 million 18 thousand liras has been utilized for the project, implemented in 9 stages to date, with grant support ranging from 50 to 75 percent from the Governorship's Investment Monitoring and Coordination Presidency (YİKOB) resources.

Ersan Öztürk, who produces strawberries in Bencik Neighborhood of Yatağan district, stated that he has been involved in strawberry cultivation for approximately 7 years.

Öztürk, stating that strawberry production makes a significant contribution to the family budget, said, "May God bless our state. Thanks to strawberries, I married off one of my sons, and God willing, I will marry off my second son as well."

Öztürk, stating that the product attracts interest with its aroma and quality and that they primarily send strawberries to Marmaris, Bodrum, and Milas, noted the following:

"Demand for our strawberries is very good. This year, I planted strawberries on 6 decares of land. We get an average of 3 tons of produce per decare. Before starting production, I worked as a shared taxi driver for many years, and we were struggling financially. My wife was also involved in livestock and tobacco farming, and our income went towards debts. Thankfully, after we started strawberry production, we became financially comfortable."

Among the producers, Mehmet Bağcı also stated that he planted strawberries for the first time this year and was satisfied with the yield he obtained.

Bağcı, stating that he worked in the construction sector and engaged in animal husbandry for many years, used the expression, "I left these jobs and turned to strawberry cultivation. I am very satisfied with the production and my earnings, and I plan to continue production from now on."

Selda Bağcı, who works in the field with her husband, stated that production directly contributes to their family budget.

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