Locals and government officials have started to set up an organized greenhouse production zone in Kahramanmaras, a city located in the southeastern region of Turkey.
The city has recently welcomed many returning immigrants from big cities who became involved with greenhouse production. More than 100 families are now growing tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses, and the production area has reached 65 hectares in the Kadioglu neighborhood.
Now government officials and growers are working together to transform the area into an organized greenhouse production zone. The goal is to be able to allocate production areas at a cheaper cost for growers and to provide them with support to build modern greenhouses. The planned size of the organized greenhouse production zone is estimated at 500 hectares. The growers have also set up a cooperative to organize sales and marketing operations so all the products from the growers in the area are sold through this cooperative. Currently, the annual production volume is around 20,000 tons of tomatoes which contribute around 6 million USD to the regional economy.
Source: Haber 46