Crop Watch by Farmers in the Manisa Plain
Producers who want to protect the grapes left to dry in the Manisa Plain from theft and wild animals are keeping watch with rifles through the night until morning.
In the Manisa Plain, grapes harvested and spread out in fields to dry are protected day and night by producers during this approximately two-week process. Unwilling to risk thousands of liras worth of hard work, farmers keep watch with rifles against the danger of theft and wild animals.
Difficult Shift at Grape Drying Yards
Following the grape harvest in the Manisa Plain, intensive work is carried out to dry the produce. Grapes gathered from the vineyards are spread over flat areas in the fields, left to the sun, and kept for about two weeks in yards stretching for meters.
Danger of Wild Animals and Theft
Producers, forced to protect their products worth thousands of liras, keep watch with rifles at night and do not leave their crops. Farmers struggle until morning to prevent wild animals, which are abundant, and potential theft attempts.
Annual Effort and Rising Costs
Saruhanlı Chamber of Agriculture Board Chairman Aydoğan Okur stated that great effort is expended during the 11-month process from the cultivation of grapes to their harvest. Okur emphasized that costs have increased by 40 to 50 percent since last year.
Price Expectations from Producers
Expressing that the price of grapes, which sold between 110 and 120 liras last year, has dropped to 75 liras this year, producers demand that the Soil Products Office step in. Farmers want products to be withdrawn from the market and a price of at least 120 liras to be applied.