According to Kurdistan Press, the harvest of the famous Diyarbakir watermelon, which is world famous for its taste, aroma and large size, has begun. These watermelons weigh between 20 and 30 kilograms on average, and sometimes their weight is much higher with the use of traditional cultivation methods.In the past, watermelons of the Surme variety, produced using the traditional method known as “well cultivation” (Kuyu Karpuzculuğu), weighed up to 75 kilograms and were considered symbols of Diyarbakir’s agriculture.

Aerial images taken by drones of the vast watermelon fields show the fertility of Diyarbakir’s plains. The large watermelons, with their red flesh and sweet taste, have won the hearts of producers and buyers, but farmers say that despite the abundant harvest, rising production costs and price fluctuations have prevented them from earning a decent income. While each kilogram of watermelon is sold for 6 to 8 liras at the farm, the same product costs up to 30 liras in the market.“This year’s crop is good, but prices are lower than expected”

Haşim Öztek, a watermelon grower who has been coming from Adana to the Karacadag region of Diyarbakir to grow the crop for 16 years, said the quality of this year’s crop is satisfactory, but the economic conditions have faced serious problems for producers.

Stating that he has been growing watermelons continuously in Diyarbakir since 2010, he added: “We had grown watermelons on 600 dunums of land for a period, but all the harvest was lost. Thank God, the yield is very good this year; the taste, color and quality of the watermelons are excellent, but the prices are lower than we expected.”

Pointing to the sharp increase in production costs, Öztek said that the cost of fertilizer, seedlings, drip irrigation pipes, nylon, pesticides and electricity has increased significantly compared to last year, and the cost of growing per dunum of land has exceeded 30,000 liras.However, the selling price of the product at the farm is only between 6 and 8 liras per kilogram.

He added: "The costs have become very heavy. The price of fertilizer has almost doubled; last year we bought a kilo for 22 liras, this year we bought it for 39 liras. Many costs have increased between 50 and 100 percent, but the price of watermelon has dropped from 8 liras to 6 liras in just a few days. In such a situation, the producer cannot achieve the expected profit."

"The quality of the product depends on proper irrigation and a lot of effort"

Öztek, who is one of the first farmers to use the drip irrigation system in Diyarbakir watermelon cultivation, said that producing a quality product is only possible with proper irrigation and continuous effort.

Emphasizing the high quality of Diyarbakir watermelon, he said: "Diyarbakir watermelon is one of the best products in the region with its taste and aroma, and in this respect it competes with Adana watermelon."But if production costs continue to increase like this, it will become more difficult to continue this work every year." Referring to the approaching harvest season, he added: "If the price of a kilo of watermelon reached 10 to 12 liras, the producer would breathe a sigh of relief, but today the price of 6 to 7 liras is not satisfactory for us. However, we will continue to produce."