Geothermal greenhouse farming, which was started 41 years ago by the public sector in the city on an area of 3.5 decares, has reached 1613 decares with investments - Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Acar: - "There are 14 countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates that we have given export permits. In geothermal greenhouses, 80 thousand tonnes of bunch tomatoes are produced annually. This creates an export potential of approximately 1 billion 600 million Turkish Liras."
Tomatoes produced in 1613 decares of geothermal greenhouse area in Afyonkarahisar are exported to 14 countries.
In the city, a geothermal greenhouse of 3.5 decares was established in 1982 by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry and the Provincial Special Administration in the Ömer-Gecek Thermal Region.
The production of tomatoes, cucumbers and cut flowers, which were successful in trials lasting about 10 years, attracted the attention of investors in the private sector. Investments in this field have increased every year.
In recent years, geothermal greenhouses in Afyonkarahisar and its districts, which mainly produce bunch tomatoes, make a great contribution to employment.
Approximately 2,500 people are employed
Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Acar said that there are 1613 decares of geothermal greenhouse area with technological automation systems in Afyonkarahisar.
Stating that with the Geothermal Greenhouse Organised Industrial Zone planned to be established in the near future, the geothermal greenhouse area in the city will exceed 3 thousand decares, Acar said:
"These greenhouses mainly produce a bunch of tomatoes. Sixty percent of the tomatoes we produce are exported and 40 percent are sold to the domestic market. There are 14 countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Russia and the United Arab Emirates for which we have export licenses. In geothermal greenhouses, 80 thousand tonnes of bunch tomatoes are produced annually. This creates an export potential of approximately 1 billion 600 million Turkish Liras. Therefore, a serious contribution is made to the economy of Afyonkarahisar and the country. With the grant support of our Ministry, our geothermal greenhouse investors are constantly increasing in our region."
Acar stated that approximately 2,500 people are employed in geothermal greenhouses in Afyonkarahisar, and the number of workers increases as the greenhouse areas expand.
High commercial returns
Investor Hakan Kozan said that they started geothermal greenhouse farming on 15 acres of land in Sandıklı district 7 years ago and increased their capacity to 80 acres in time.
Stating that they aim to increase their geothermal greenhouse area to 150 acres in a few years, Kozan said "The biggest expense item in greenhouse farming is heating. Geothermal resource attracts investors as it minimizes this heating cost. There are geothermal greenhouse regions in different parts of Türkiye. The geothermal water distribution system of Sandıklı Municipality provides the advantage to the investor. Since the commercial return is good, investments in the sector are constantly increasing."
Emphasizing that Afyonkarahisar is an attractive region for investors with the grants and support provided by the state, Kozan said that many exporter companies in Türkiye buy bunch tomatoes from geothermal greenhouses in Sandıklı.
Investor Ramazan Çetinkaya stated that they have a geothermal greenhouse established on an area of 13 thousand square meters in Sandıklı and that they produced bunch tomatoes for export with high efficiency for 11 months.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl