A high tech greenhouse belonging to Çaldıran Geothermal Inc. is located in the coldest part of the eastern region of Turkey. It started production in 2016 in the Çaldıran - Ayrancılar region of Van. This region is under the effect of snow and cold weather most of the year.
In Turkey, the lowest temperature ever seen was recorded in this region at -46.4 degrees. Snow thickness reaches 1.5-2 meters. Siberian cold is observed in the region during the period of December 20th to February 20th. The size of the high tech greenhouse built with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is 34,000 m2 and it also has a 500 m2 training and trial greenhouse. Heating is done with water coming from 5 geothermal wells with an average temperature of 90 °C.
More than 1,000 tons of tomatoes are produced annually under the brand Agrovan. Tomatoes and cucumbers, which are produced in the greenhouse, where 40 employees, including 30 women, work and contribute to the employment of the region where they are established, are sold to Van and its surrounding cities, and also exported to Russia and Georgia. Agrovan received the region's "Most prestigious brand" title last year.
Hüseyin KALAY receiving the "Most Prestigious Brand" award.
Project Coordinator Yusuf Taşkın who explained that that the region is rich in terms of geothermal water resources, said, "We are producing in every period of the year thanks to geothermal heat. We have experienced the coldest days of the year so far. The air temperature is minus 36-40 °C outside and the lowest temperature is +15 °C in the greenhouse.
We sell the tomatoes and cucumbers that we produce to the Van region. There is a very high demand. Our country so far had no experience of making greenhouse heating and production in temperatures colder than -30 °C. This is the coldest place in Turkey with a temperature of minus 46 degrees Celsius. So being able to heat the greenhouse was an important experience for the greenhouse industry in our country." Taşkın stressed that they also make the best use of technology.
Stating that there is a problem in terms of employment in the region, Taşkın said, “The employees here developed themselves in greenhouse cultivation. The participation of women in the workforce is not a situation that the region is used to. Now women working here contribute to family economies. It was a huge risk to make such an investment in this region. The eyes of the greenhouse world were on us. We were worried when the air temperature dropped and heavy snow fell. But our project was successful by doing the necessary engineering calculations.
The consultancy of the greenhouse is carried out by Dr. Murat Çiçekli. Dr. Çiçekli remarks: “Nobody believed that production could be done at - 46 °C at an altitude of 2050 meters. Because, the Delta T (ΔT) is almost 50-60 degrees Celsius (+15 °C and - 46 °C) in this region. However, at the point we have reached today, tomatoes (Truss, Cherry, Cocktail) and cucumbers were produced in the freezing cold.
We have been doing successful production for 3 seasons. This is our 4th season. Air conditioning and production in these climatic conditions is a real success. So far, there was no experience with greenhouses in these temperatures in our country. Therefore this has been a great experience for the Turkish greenhouse industry.
Mehmet Emin Beyiş, board member of the Company, emphasizes that they use bees for the pollination of the crops, allowing them to grow hormone-free tomatoes. He also said that biological struggle has been made and thus the use of pesticides has been reduced. The firm continues to supply for the domestic market and also exports to countries like Russia and England under the brands of “Agrovan”, which are secured with quality certification like GlobalGAP and ITU.
Esmer Özbahçeci, who is responsible for production in the greenhouse, said, “It is a great advantage especially for women to implement such a project in a place like Çaldıran. Normally, women don't go out too much here. Since there is no job opportunity in the district, they always live at home. But at this project women started to work here. They started to make their own money and owned this place very nicely. It is great to have such a place in a cold region like Çaldıran."
For more information:
Agrovan
Çaldıran Jeotermal A.Ş.
Mr. Yusuf Taşkın
y.taskin65@gmail.com