The city of Isparta is located in the southwestern region of Turkey and is well-known for its agricultural production. The city is famous for its rose, lavender, apple, tomato, and sweet cherry production. Recently growers have also started investing in carnation production and the results have been extremely promising. These carnations are currently exported to European countries.
The carnation production has also changed the fate of the Deregumu village in the city. Carnation production is increasing steadily in the village and the growers have found buyers through exporting companies for their products from Spain, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, and the Netherlands.
The village has a population of only 2.000 residents and most of the villagers earn their living in carnation greenhouses. Additionally workers come from neighboring village to work in the greenhouses. After harvest, the carnations are stored in the cold storage facilities in the village.
Isparta Chamber of Agriculture Mustahattin Can Selcuk: “Previously the fields in the village were used for grape and watermelon production. Now greenhouses are built for tomato and carnation production. We are growing around 120 million stems of cut flowers annually and sell it to the European market.
"Right now we are coming to the end of this season’s carnation harvest. We generate a revenue of 8 million USD annually for our village. As a result of the carnation production, the fate of the village has reversed course. The residents were used to migrate from the village to find jobs and now the village is actually receiving immigrants coming from other cities to work in the greenhouses. This way our village was able to contribute our national economy and exports and we hope to set an example for all the villages in the region.”
Source: Haber 7