A Çukurova story

ADANA

Çukurova, or the Cilician Plain is a large fertile basin in southern Türkiye at the east end of the Mediterranean region. Here “Çukur” means a depressed low land, and “ova” is simply a plain. Çukurova is undoubtedly the agricultural locomotive of Türkiye. Though the plain stretches four provinces, Mersin, Osmaniye, Hatay and Adana, when one mentions Çukurova, the direct connotation always goes to Adana, which has always been the wealthiest city in the region, obviously because of the rich agricultural lands. Naturally, the city is renowned for its cuisine, especially with its unmatched kebab culture; so much so that all over the country, their famed skewered kebab made with cleaver-chopped mincemeat is simply called with the name of the city: “Adana!”

In the past years, Adana has been keen on promoting its cuisine by organizing an annual gastronomy event attracting huge crowds, that features cooking competitions, celebrity chef workshops, talks and panels, and countless kiosks of open-air kebab stands turning their skewers on hot embers. It is a scene that engraves in your brain and a smell that remains in your nostrils forever.

This year, there was a different angle added to the whole food & fun-focused event. As part of the 8th International “Taste of Adana Festival,” a one-day meeting was attached to the program: “Taste of Soil: Çukurova Agriculture Summit.” Having the two events together was a brilliant idea. Food and agriculture cannot be thought apart, that is for sure, but we tend to take food for granted, and not associate it with the soil and land it comes from. In this context, the Çukurova Agriculture Summit was undoubtedly organized in the right place and at the right time. Coinciding its dates with the “Taste of Adana Festival” was an opportunity to discuss dire threats to agriculture in front of the food sector people who like to accentuate the pleasure factor but do not like to hear about climate change, correct use of water resources, economic crisis and inflation.

Captivating Creative Captions

Having an agriculture summit in parallel to the food festival was the idea of Ebru Baybara Demir, the powerhouse woman who defines herself as a social gastronomy chef. She is decorated with numerous awards including the Basque Culinary Award and was recently named by UNFAO as one of the seven World Food Heroes. The summit also had an international character, organized in collaboration with Nicola Gryczka, co-founder of the “Social Gastronomy Movement” and with the participation of experts from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Mexico and the Philippines, as well as key agricultural authorities from Türkiye.

There was a solid agenda: to redefine agriculture as the profession of the future. Most of the issues of global concern for the future were covered, such as climate change, shortage of water resources, environmental challenges, efficiency and productivity in agriculture and livestock breeding. The captions of the panels tackling these issues were chosen in the most brilliantly creative way, making the theme of the panel and the problem to be addressed immediately apparent, summarizing the discussion topic almost like a pill to swallow.

The list of panels offered a colorful, humorous, and accessible discussion environment, in stark contrast to a purely boring academic format.

Soil: The most precious of Adana

Agriculture is the mainstay of economies around the world. The value of soil is paramount to global and local economic stability. The global speaker for the session, which sought to answer the question of how to protect soil health, was Patrick Honauer on behalf of Food Network.

Is having two crop cycles per year a dream?

One of the key features of productive agricultural basins is the ability to produce two or more different crops a year. But is this now just a dream, or can it be achieved with a smarter management of water resources? Dr Thieu Besselink from Utrecht University in the Netherlands discussed options for applying global best practices to Çukurova, and

The speech of Prof. Bülent Özekici was an engaging example of “Water Management for Dummies- 101” providing direct simple solutions to the problem, a talk to be remembered.

What will Adana plant this year? Watermelons, onions or pistachios?

Proper planning in agriculture is essential for productivity and soil health. In Çukurova, however, every year there is a debate about whether to plant watermelon, onions, or pistachios. This is insane. The question of what to plant has to be determined with careful planning considering climate change, environment and soil health, but on the contrary, the only concern is high yield expectations with high profit. At the end of the year, it is often sheer disappointment. Regenerative farmer, Gut Rheinau and Mulch 2.0 founder David Jacobsen provided examples of agricultural planning to address this challenging question.

Where have all the watermelons gone?

Adana is famed for its Karagülle watermelons, meaning Dark Cannonballs, they are up to their name, huge, dark, heavy and super sweet exploding in your mouth. Agriculture is also about heritage. Preserving heirloom products, and ancient knowledge is essential to preserve biodiversity and sustain intangible cultural heritage. Cherrie Atilano of the Philippine AGREA Foundation discussed the contribution of preserving agricultural and livestock heritage to the ecosystem, and its role in sustaining culinary heritage.

We ate and we were not satiated, we did not put a single sheep in the plain!

When Adana is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the kebab. But will there be kebabs in the future? Or will it have the same taste? Sustaining livestock breeding in Çukurova is essential for the future of kebab, especially the indigenous Ivris fat-tailed sheep. If there are no local breeds left, there will be no kebab, and the culinary heritage of Adana cannot be carried into the future.

No taking without giving, footprints come with a price tag!

The carbon footprint is one of the most debated issues in the food sector. With the introduction of carbon taxes, the agricultural sector is about to be reshaped. Mexican bioengineer and geoscientist Ramón Bacre says the most critical global problem is global warming. He seeks ways to bring technological developments out of the laboratory and put them into practice. Dr. Murat Salih who is both a farmer and an electronics engineer talked about integrating technology with applied practices, and also the urgent need to improve regulations and support schemes.

Agricultural waste? What happens if some of it stays in the field?

The concept of zero waste also applies to agriculture. Nourishing the soil by leaving certain residues on the field can be a rescue for soil health. In this way, agricultural waste is also utilized in a beneficial way.

Even if you go to the Sorbonne, you will still drive that tractor!

The future of agriculture is the future of humanity. Young people who see agriculture as the profession of the future and are willing to combine traditional farming with modern technology are a prerequisite for renewing the agricultural sector and moving it forward. Christine Gould from Thought for Food, the world's first innovation platform for food and agriculture was the global speaker of this last panel, and it was inspirational to listen to woman farmer Bedia Gücüm, lamenting about her 20 lost years in big city life, and the happy return to her home soil.

Çukurova has always been the epicenter of Turkish agriculture, once producing legendary wealth. Who knows, in hopes that future generations will not be detached from their soil, a new Çukurova success story might be rewritten here for the future of food!