Hazelnut harvest: Labor-intensive efforts under the sun

In rugged terrain, despite the hot weather, producers who completed the harvest with family members or agricultural workers spread the hazelnuts in the field after the harvest to separate them from the husks and dry them. After the green outer part of the hazelnuts dried on the husks, producers will dry them for a while longer before selling. Halis Koç, who processes the hazelnuts in the husker, stated that they are experiencing intensity and that the most challenging aspect of the process is the dust that arises during the operation. Koç mentioned that the work, which starts around 6:00 AM and continues until 12:00 AM, is quite demanding, and the hourly wage for husking is 2,000 Turkish liras. Producer Yaşar Kılıç stated that they entered the garden with 17 people 15 days ago and collected the hazelnuts. Explaining that they put the product, which dried in two days, into the husker, Kılıç said, 'God willing, I will take it to the merchant. 5 tons of hazelnuts are ready.' Kılıç pointed out the difficulties of hazelnut harvesting, saying, 'Hazelnut has many difficulties. It's not just about harvesting and husking. You have to fertilize it and spray it with pesticides in the spring, and then you have to cut the lower parts. After that, you have to follow the laborers. In the summer, you have to shake it in the garden, and in the winter, you have to prune the branches.' Umut Kılıç, the 20-year-old son of Yaşar Kılıç, stated that he worked at many stages of the harvest. Kılıç, a student at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Theology, said, 'I came here on June 25th. I've been working since that day. I started by mowing the grass with a gasoline-powered scythe. The mowing process took 10-15 days. I picked up the cut branches in some places. After the laborers came, I did sack work behind them.' Kılıç emphasized that he has been working for almost 2 months, from spreading the hazelnuts in the field to the husking process, and said, 'I wake up around 6:00-7:00 AM and go home around 5:00-6:00 PM. Sometimes it's even later. I also deal with our cows. I work in the garden from morning until evening. The husking process is over, and I said 'Alhamdulillah' (Thank God). I've been working since I came here. After all, I'm on summer vacation, I haven't had a chance to travel. I got my father's permission. God willing, I will go on vacation to my sister's place in Istanbul.' Atakan Akça, the President of Altınordu Chamber of Agriculture, stated that it is now time to remove the product from the field in the coastal region. Akça, who stated that the process of husking hazelnuts is ongoing, made the following evaluation: 'For producers, a very productive period has been experienced especially in terms of harvest. Because our region did not receive any rain during this period. There was no position for harvest rot in hazelnuts. Therefore, it is a very important situation for the quality of these hazelnuts. Last year, we had a rainy period and there was a huge decay in the husking process. Thank God, this year, our producers did not face such a situation.' Pointing out that hazelnut agriculture is difficult and labor-intensive, especially in Ordu, Giresun, and Trabzon, Akça explained that processes such as garden cleaning, spraying, fertilization, harvesting, and transportation are entirely based on human labor. Akça emphasized that the cost of hazelnut production in the Eastern Black Sea region is higher than in other regions, stating, 'Even in the husking process, we experience a laborious process. We experience this in every stage of hazelnut production. In fact, hazelnut is not a product that completes all processes in a one-month period as it is thought. Hazelnut is a product that is served for 11 months, and when necessary, it is brought to the field with tremendous struggles, filled into sacks, and brought to the market.'