Whilst most people in Turkey were celebrating the beginning of the new year, farmers in Fethiye, southern Turkey were keeping vigil in their greenhouses against the frost.
Fethiye is home to important greenhouse tomato growing areas; as the temperatures fell below zero on New Year’s Eve, many farmers had to cancel their celebrations and instead stay in their greenhouse to protect their crops.
Growers responded to criticism over prices
“While the nation is celebrating and enjoying themselves, we’re here in the greenhouses keeping vigil,” said tomato grower Neset Kaban, “Prices may be high for three or five days and farmers will be blamed, it will be the chemicals we’re using or something like that. But when the prices are cheap no one thinks of the farmers.”
“If we don’t work, how will we pay our debts”
Kaban explains that the farmers cannot put aside time to enjoy themselves: “If we don’t work, who will pay our debts? We’re holding vigil in the greenhouses.” Another farmers, Hasan Sutce explains, “The temperature outside is 2 degrees, in the greenhouses it falls to below zero. We’ve lit the stoves, the weather is very harsh. The weather in Turkey is cold everywhere, but to see such extreme cold in a tourism paradise like Fethiye is quite something. Fuel is very expensive, we’re burning 400 kilos a day. We’re having huge difficulties because we can’t find good cash buyers.”
Source - freshplaza.com
