The fertile lands of our country and the privileged climatic characteristics unique to its geography provide the opportunity to produce with its wide product variety, while also giving the opportunity to create a different success story in every corner of our country. As long as we have the eyes that can see and our desire to invest that will reveal this potential.
Turkey has a very important position in the world in terms of quality cherry production and export.
Cherry, which has an important competitive advantage for our country in the world market, is mainly exported and provides foreign currency inflow.
Cherry, which can be easily grown in certain geographies on our soil, is an attractive fruit type that provides high profits to the producer despite some difficulties in its production and is among the primary preferences of the consumers.
This success story we are discussing is the story of a mountain town, which takes place in a provincial town, can barely make ends meet before the venture, and is constantly migrating.
This success story is the story of a hardworking villager, who, in a society that lives with a very low standard of living, shows what he can achieve when given the opportunity and guided, and becomes able to invest in the future of his children.
This success story is the success story of the villager, who has undergone great change under the leadership of an investor and a visionary company, has become a world-class cherry producer and provides significant foreign currency inflow to our country.
Our story begins 22 years ago. The place where this success story takes place is Mihalıççık district of Eskişehir , and the stakeholders of the story are Alara Tarım , which has a strong brand in cherry production and supply in the world, and the entrepreneurs and innovative producers of the district.
This important initiative, which did not find much support from the people of the region at that time, is very dazzling at the point we have reached today and immediately raises the following question.
I wonder how many more virgin areas do we have that we can rear with success stories that sleep with hidden potential?
Without further ado, let's listen to the story of this perfect transformation from Alara Tarım A.Ş General Manager, Mr. Arif Güney .
Mr. Arif, you have achieved great success in our country and in the world as the senior manager of Alara Tarım Company for many years. You are currently the General Manager of the company. The success story we are discussing here is the success story of the stakeholders, which started with the superior foresight of Alara Tarım company and actively supported the project.
Can you tell us how this success story started, how it developed and how it came to these days?
As Alara Tarım , we have been a leading company in the world in fig and cherry production and export for many years. The production and supply model that we have created in our country is an exemplary model in the world.
Together with innovative entrepreneurial producers in important regions of our country in cherry production, we are doing good work throughout the entire production season.
Thanks to the traceable production model we have created, we produce cherries with our own orchards, as well as with our producers, using limited plant protection products that do not have residue problems, and that the consumer can consume with peace of mind.
We create our standards according to the criteria determined by the value chain and consumers in the world.
The cherry that we produce and also that we buy from the producer is under our control and we confirm that the cherry is in compliance with the criteria we have determined by conducting residue analyzes before purchasing. We do not buy non-criteria productions.
The length of the seasonal supply period, time and time management are very important in cherry export. Export starts from the early production areas and continues until the final production point.
The length of the export season depends on realizing an effective and long-term supply program in these regions with different climatic characteristics.
Mihalıççık was a region with geographical potential that could be the last station of our supply chain, and it was an important, strategic and radical decision taken by the Alara Tarım management 22 years ago.
Before such an investment decision, of course, serious feasibility studies were carried out. The profile of the local people and their support for the project were investigated. First, we purchased an area of 1,200 decares in the region and started production in these areas with the varieties preferred in the market. We have created a modern infrastructure in the production area
Our understanding of close cooperation with the people of the region was the most important key to our development. In this way, the modern production facility we established aroused the interest and appetite of the producer. As Alara Tarım company, we have always continued to give strong support to the regional producer throughout this process. We presented modern techniques to the regional producer, shared our opportunities and always stood by them and encouraged them.
Our established gardens have always been a school for local producers.
The most important thing was that the producer understood that if he produced cherries according to the desired criteria, there would be no marketing problem.
At the point we have reached today, the district has become a district equipped with modern cherry orchards and can produce cherries at world standards, which is known as an important cherry producer region. The district that gave immigration was the scene of a return, the living standard of the people increased, and it became a district that provides foreign currency inflow for the country.
In this important transformation process, it is possible that you, as a company, have encountered many challenging conditions and obstacles. What do you think was the most important key to this success?
The investment power of our company, its determined stance, the perspectives and support of public authorities on production and our close cooperation with the people of the region played a very important role in the success of this story. We could not imagine a development isolated from the people of the region. In this sense, we see how well we are doing.
Today, a cherry production potential of around 10 thousand tons has emerged in the district and is of a quality that can be exported to a large extent. This is very proud for us. This is just the beginning of the work, we believe that we will achieve more good developments together with the people of the region.
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We are now together with Alara Tarım A.Ş Mihalıççık Garden production manager, Agricultural Engineer Erhan Petek , who has been involved in this story for 22 years in this region and has an important say in the development of the region, and we ask him.
You have made a great contribution in laying the foundations of such an initiative in a mountain town 100 km away from Eskişehir and bringing it to this day. For 22 years you have devoted yourself to the development of this modern garden. By working with great devotion, mostly away from the city and social life from your family, you have created a garden equipped with modern techniques that can be pointed at in Turkey.
Could you briefly tell us the story of your dedication to this important project?
When we started driving the first nail here 22 years ago, there was a quiet society that could barely get by on its own.
We believed in the potential of the region and we created this modern production area by working day and night with devotion in this direction.
Of course, the people of the region were our biggest supporters during this process. We benefited from the local people in supplying the workforce. In this process, the modern infrastructure and development also stimulated their minds. As a company, we have always given great support to their development.
Today, the district is referred to as a cherry town.
The innovative producers who followed our development began to establish cherry orchards themselves, and this wind continued to grow stronger and has reached today.
Mihalıççık has become a district that produces cherries at a level that can be exported abroad and earns foreign currency for its country.
Today, our development still continues and your investments continue. In particular, we take important steps in the selection and adaptation of varieties suitable for the region. In the future, Mihalıççık will become a district that has a greater say in its sector, which has a greater share in production. As Alara Tarım , we are extremely pleased and proud to realize such a transformation.
We are now together with Mr. Alper Yerlice , the head of Mihalıççık Chamber of Agriculture.
President, we follow and appreciate the change of our district in 22 years at an excellent level.
Today, you are an important cherry producer. We would like to hear from you the story of such an important change in agricultural production.
Our district is a district with a population of 8000 , 53 villages and an altitude of 1100 . For years, we have experienced the great disadvantage of not being on the main route of our district, which is 100 km away from Eskişehir . The development of the region was limited in this respect. It is a virgin region with limited land availability and fragmented mostly forestry, animal husbandry and farming.
Before Alara Tarım company came to our district, we were trying to survive by growing low-yield products such as wheat, barley and chickpeas, mostly in dry conditions.
The arrival of Alara Tarım company in our district marked the beginning of a new era for the people of the region in terms of agricultural production efficiency.
At that time, we met the cherry , a fruit of which we had no knowledge before. We had no knowledge of how to plant, how to grow, how to fight.
Mihalıççık has evolved from a self-sufficient mountain town to a town adorned with modern cherry orchards.
The peasant's face has changed and his view of life has been revived. Villagers who earn money from cherries spend their earnings on the development of cherry orchards, and new orchards continue to be established, new producers participate in this change.
We can now take better care of ourselves and our children's future.
Of course, Alara Tarım made a great contribution to this great transformation, and we owe them great gratitude. The development and supply power of our region continues to increase every year.
Mihalıççık will be in a much stronger position in the future with its agricultural production and will have a say in the export of many more of our countries. We would like to thank all the management staff of Alara Agriculture Company, who contributed to us in every field in modern agricultural production.
The opinions of the President of the Chamber of Agriculture show how the people of the region embraced the change and have come to these days, giving hope for the future. Today, we need to hear similar success stories from every corner of our country.
The world is in great change. While the population is increasing rapidly and agricultural production areas are decreasing, on the other hand, consumer criteria and preferences are pushing the producer. In the future, the money out of our pocket for food will be proportionally much more.
We always say that the fertile soils and climatic characteristics of our country are always observed with envy from abroad.
The fact that our country has a greater say in agricultural production in the world, expanding the product range that can compete in the market depends on revealing our current hidden potentials. The distance that can be traveled with the traditional understanding of agriculture is limited.
We sincerely congratulate Alara Tarım for this successful initiative and the people of the region who are open to innovation, and we salute this success story.
Sources
Mustafa DERE