Organic bananas are started to be grown in a greenhouse located in Afyon, a city located on western Turkey after 2 years of effort. The banana has originated from southeast Asia and in Turkey it is mostly grown in Anamur, Mersin and Alanya, Antalya. This was the first production of bananas in Afyon and it was grown at an altitude of 1,021 meters.
Ornamental Plants Directorate Manager Emel Yildiz: “Banana is one of the 85 products we have in our greenhouse. We have planted the seeds at 2016, April and now we have started having fruits so it is a very late harvest. Our goal was not actually to grow the fruit but to have the banana plant here for our visitors. However now we can proudly say that banana is grown in Afyon.
The taste of the bananas is also delightful and it is completely organic. In order to find out its financial feasibility, we need to research more on the costs. Also 2 years is too long for harvest thus we need to improve to a pace where banana can be harvested annually and then we can recommend it for production to growers in the region.”
Source: Hurriyet
