Uğur İbrahim Altay, President of the International Association of Agricultural Cities and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, stated in a written statement that they aim to introduce the drought-resistant oilseed plant, safflower, to the local people and contribute to the economy.
Altay stated that they cultivated chickpeas in 2021 and wheat in 2022 on the 800,000 square meters of unused land belonging to the Metropolitan Municipality in Acıkuyu Neighborhood, and this year they planted the oilseed plant safflower.
Mayor Altay: “The Metropolitan Municipality planted the drought-resistant oilseed plant, safflower, on the 800,000 square meter area owned by the municipality in Acıkuyu Neighborhood, which is a part of Kulu district, to bring unused lands into agricultural production. We aim to introduce this plant, which is unfamiliar to the local people, and contribute to the economy by increasing the cultivation of safflower. In previous years, we used the income obtained from the crops planted on the unused lands for social support projects. We plan to use the income obtained from safflower oil for similar social support projects. During the production process, we employed the local workforce and also provided rental services for agricultural machinery, which contributed to the budget of the farmers. I wish all farmers a fruitful year."
