The First Strawberry Harvest Was Made in Zonguldak: 150 TL per Kilogram

The first strawberry harvest was made in Ereğli district of Zonguldak. Due to the low production of strawberries coming from the field to the market, they started to be sold for 150 TL per kilogram.

Kdz. İsmet Koç, who retired from the iron and steel factory in Ereğli district, harvested the first strawberry harvest of this year in his field with his wife Ayşe Koç. İsmet Koç explained that the strawberry, which was produced less due to excessive rainfall last year, has a low yield this year due to drought, and said that the Ottoman Strawberry has also decreased greatly. Koç said, “2024 strawberry season will be good for our Kdz. Ereğli. As you can see, we collected our first harvest today. This is Kışla District İnallı Street. This strawberry is the brother of the Ottoman Strawberry, the alo strawberry. If God wills, the Ottoman Strawberry will come out within 15-20 days. Last year’s weather conditions “It has always been rainy and the insects have eaten. This year the weather is dry and if it rains, strawberries will be abundant,” he said.

“It can’t happen if a father works and feeds 5 people”

Stating that they continue to produce even though they have no financial need and try to set an example for people, Koç said, “I do not need anything financially. I am retired from iron and steel factories. We produce to encourage people. Now is the time to plant peppers, eggplants and tomatoes.” . People should plant so that everyone can earn. How much will the government pay? If a father works and feeds 5 people, we go out and shout, ‘it’s expensive, it’s expensive’. You don’t care for the cow in the village, how can this happen if you don’t have a field? “Make ravioli, cut pasta, do handicrafts,” he said.

“The real therapy is working in the field and producing”

İsmet Koç’s wife Ayşe Koç also stated that she has been producing since she was 15 years old. Ayşe Koç said that with the income she earned from production, she enabled her two children to study at university and get a job and profession. Koç included the following words in his speech:

“I don’t do this because I need it. My wife is retired, I own a house, I don’t pay rent. Both of my children are married and working. Thanks to what I produced, I sent both of my children to school, they became engineers, and they took over their own business. I don’t learn anything by watching TV at home until the evening. until ‘He said this, he said that.’ Actually, this feels like therapy to me. I went to a wedding recently, everyone from age 7 to 70 is on their phones. This is really therapy. I plant this strawberry every year. Because it dries out every year when it doesn’t rain, we plant it again in October. The only strawberry grown in Kdz. Ereğli since my childhood was the Ottoman Strawberry. “I would buy the seedling no matter how much it costs, but no one will give it to me or I can’t find it.” – ZONGULDAK