Cemre Ates, who lives in the Kepez district of Antalya, has been involved in agriculture with her family since her childhood. Ates studied at 3 universities, one of which is in Ireland, and then became a flight attendant in an airline company. Ates started to produce sports nutrition and canned food as a hobby. She then started to collect ancestral seeds by traveling from city to city with curiosity about agricultural production. Ates saw a mini sugar tomato in the garden while she was walking around Giresun, where she went in 2017 to search for seeds and bought one.
Returning to her hometown, Ates started to produce seeds from the seeds of tomatoes. Having started to multiply the seeds it produces, Ates has now started to produce Antalya's first mini sugar tomato in the 4 decare greenhouse she has established. Continuing her education at Anadolu University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cemre Ates delivers the products she produces in her greenhouse without using chemical pesticides to her customers. Ates's goal is to export the mini sweet tomatoes she produces.
Stating that agriculture and farming are their family professions, Cemre Ates said, “I grew up in fields with my family since I was 4 years old. I started producing sports nutrition 7 years ago, then I became curious. I put on my backpack, wandered from city to city, and started collecting seeds. I traveled to different parts of the country. I visited the villages and bought the seeds collected by the old people. I planted them, multiplied and I continue to multiply."
"4 years ago, I met an old lady in the village of Giresun. I saw 3 times smaller sugar tomatoes in his garden, I asked to buy one. I took it and brought it here and planted the seed. I planted mini sugar tomatoes on 4 acres of land in 4 years by constantly multiplying them. This tomato is very different from what we know. Very small, very juicy, with lots of seeds. I am the only one who produces mini sugar tomatoes in Antalya."
The tomatoes are shaped like chickpeas and you can even eat 1 kg in one sitting. 'This isn't tomato, it's cranberry." is the reaction of some of the customers.
Source: Yenicag
Image source: Dreamstime