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Kırklareli province, one of the important agricultural production centres of Türkiye, produces 10 percent of the sunflower in the country and offers it to domestic and foreign markets.
Sunflower, also known as “yellow bride” and “solstice” in Thrace region of Türkiye, continues to develop and grain formation continues.
A significant part of sunflower production is carried out on irrigated lands.
Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Mehmet Aksoy said that Kırklareli has an important place in sunflower production.
Stating that they received 240 thousand tonnes of crop last year despite the meadow caterpillar, Aksoy said that they expect a hike this year compared to last year.
Pointing out that they made calculations according to the sowing area, Aksoy said, “If we get one more rainfall, our yield and grain fullness will probably be better. Hopefully, this year we will close our harvest with around 250 thousand tonnes of sunflower.”
Emphasing that sunflower is a strategic product, Aksoy reminded that a large part of the liquid oil need is obtained from sunflower.
Indicating that they are trying to ramp up sunflower production areas in the province with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and that they distribute domestic and national seeds suitable for the climate and soil structure of the region to producers, Aksoy explained,
“In Kırklareli region, we provided approximately 2 million liras of support to our producers. In other words, we distributed 90 percent grant seeds to our farmers. Both the root structures and development stages of domestic and national seeds and their adaptation to the climate are very good. Hopefully, our farmers will see that the yield is even higher by trying them and these seeds will spread rapidly.”
“Sunflower is a strategic crop because you cannot find oil from anywhere else. Therefore, our state is trying to involve our farmers in production with a fast production method and planning in these products, which we call strategic areas. In our country, there is currently about 2.5 million tonnes of sunflower production. If we produce 250 thousand tonnes, we produce 10 percent of it. Kırklareli is at a very good point in sunflower,” Aksoy added…
