Climate change brings coffee production to Antalya

ANTALYA

Due to climate change, successful coffee bean cultivation has finally been achieved in the Mediterranean province of Antalya after 40 years of attempts, with the saplings expected to bear fruit within a year, offering producers an alternative to banana plants.

Antalya stands out with its fruit and vegetable production as much as tourism. After Gazipaşa district, which has become a production center for tropical fruits in recent years, banana production has become widespread in Manavgat.

The Western Mediterranean Agricultural Research Center (BATEM) continues to work on plants that can be produced in the city with climate change.

Forty years back, engineers from BATEM, having dedicated considerable effort to cultivating the coffee plant outdoors without success, finally achieved its growth through greenhouse production, adapting to climate change.

The coffee plant, whose saplings are 2 years old at this time, will start bearing fruit next year. When it is 5 years old, 1 kilogram of coffee could be obtained from 5 kilograms of fresh fruit.

BATEM Agricultural Engineer Dr. Dilek Güven said that they have been working for a long time to make the coffee plant an alternative for farmers in production.

"Fruit species once deemed impossible to be grown along the Mediterranean coastline can now be cultivated. We have been growing bananas for years, and it was quite costly. Greenhouses have been built and producers can now grow and sell bananas."

Stating that coffee can be grown in a different climate like bananas, Güven said, "We want to show that coffee can be grown as an alternative to bananas. There is increasing demand every day. There are those who call by phone and there are also those who come and examine the product here.”