Harvest Net Reduces Hazelnut Labor Costs by 70%
· AA Tarım & Ekonomi
The net covering system, increasingly adopted in Giresun, is reducing hazelnut harvest labor costs by 70%, while also improving product quality and cutting collection time by two-thirds.
Hazelnut Net Support is Increasing
The Giresun Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry continues to encourage the use of net covering to reduce labor costs and speed up the collection process in hazelnut harvesting. Following the grant support provided to 11 producers last year, 44 producers' grant applications were accepted this season within the scope of Rural Economic Infrastructure Investments. Producers who spread harvest nets in their gardens have started to collect the ripe nuts that fall naturally from the branches with much less labor and in a faster manner.
70% Savings in Labor Costs
Giresun Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Mustafa Ensar Yılmaz, stated that hazelnut orchards constitute 70% of the agricultural land in the province and that they provide grant support of up to 70% to producers. Giresun Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Mustafa Ensar Yılmaz, made the following assessment regarding the advantages of the net system:
"The use of net covering provides a 70% advantage in labor costs. The harvest net is indispensable for us due to its ability to reduce moisture and labor costs."
Giresun Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Mustafa Ensar Yılmaz, continued his remarks, touching upon the transformation process in the harvesting method and the reduction of aflatoxin risk:
"A process related to collecting from the ground has actually begun for over 10 years. We are supporting this process with hazelnut harvest nets."
Net Covering Success in Sloped Gardens
Provincial Director Mustafa Ensar Yılmaz mentioned the difficulty of the region's geographical conditions and steep terrain, stating that farmers initially had reservations about terraced lands. Giresun Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Mustafa Ensar Yılmaz, said the following about the applications in the field:
"At this point, during our training on spreading the harvest net, our farmers have concerns such as, 'My land is significantly sloped, would a hazelnut harvest net work? We don't have much in the way of inter-row and row arrangements in our gardens, would it be suitable for spreading net covering?' We have shown that net covering can be spread on sloped land by spreading net covering in one of our producers' gardens and demonstrating its applicability."
Producer's Gain in Time and Effort
Azime Dizdar, a hazelnut producer in Kemaliye village, connected to the Giresun center, stated that they experienced the net covering method for the first time last year and were very pleased with the process. Hazelnut Producer Azime Dizdar made the following statement regarding labor productivity:
"In previous years, the harvest, which took a long time, was completed in one day with the net covering. I really liked this method. The harvest that was completed in 3 days with 7 people was finished in one day with the net covering."