Tobacco
Turkey has a convenient ecological conditions, as is known in terms of tobacco production. Although we have many lands to be utilized by tobacco farming in our country, which has the best growing conditions for tobacco, the number of families engaged in tobacco farming decreases every year.
As long as the price policy, which corresponds to the hard work of our farmers, is not followed, there will be a decrease in the number of families engaged in tobacco farming every year.
Tobacco business requires continuous work for most of the year. Despite the efforts of mechanization in recent years, the young generation refrains from doing tobacco agriculture every year in regions where tobacco agriculture is dominant, where producers have sweat on each leaf, requiring more human labor. To eliminate this negative situation and allow to grow the quality tobacco that the world seeks, there are obligations for tobacco buyers, producers and producer unions to take the necessary measures for sustainable production in increasing tobacco cultivation areas, obtaining economic efficiency from unit area and improving tobacco quality. In addition, the necessary balance must be achieved between increases in input prices used in tobacco production, difficulties in finding qualified daily workers due to labor-intensive work, high wages of wages, export prices and price increases.
Tobacco producers, who are still trying to occupy an important place in the economy of our country, earned approximately 840 million TL in 2015 in return for 62 thousand tons of production. In addition, approximately 10 thousand tons of tobacco was produced without a contract and sold as shredded tobacco.
Aegean region tobaccos used to be purchased over 3 types in previous years. In the last 10 years, 7 types of purchasing studies have been carried out. Although kind of recipes are written in contracts, it causes confusion in manufacturers. It is thought that the purchasing activities are carried out over 3 types as before, and the producers will have more clear information about the types of tobacco they produce.
Again, since the number of producers could not be increased in recent years, buyers who do not want to lose producers generally explain the prices, which will be realized as the average price, as the 1st price. Almost all producers are purchased by paying the 1st price-head price or a few lira lower price. In this case, it becomes difficult to talk about the quality characteristics of tobacco.
In our country, tobacco cultivation is carried out in family business in the Aegean and Black Sea Regions. Approximately 10 thousand tons of tobacco is produced in the East-Southeast regions without a contract.
After the highest levels in 1993 with 334 thousand tons, tobacco production decreased over time and fell below 300 thousand tons at the end of the 90's. In 2001, it fell below 200 thousand tons, and in 2006, it fell below 100 thousand tons without ever seeing it again.
In order to compete with the countries that grow Oriental-type quality tobacco in the world markets, in other words, to be able to sell our tobacco to the countries that will buy our leaf tobaccos without any trouble, the issue of obtaining the highest economic efficiency should be the basic principle of tobacco agriculture policy, on the condition that it reduces the cost and does not disrupt the quality from the unit area.
In our country, tobacco agriculture is a difficult form of agriculture that is done according to traditions and customs, and it requires continuous work for most of the year and also requires human labor rather than machine power. A farmer who is engaged in tobacco farming adds his day and night from the seedbed to the box, and under the hot sun, he does the heavy work such as growing seedlings, planting in the field, hoeing, breaking, sorting, drying, preserving and boxing of tobacco, and they earn their livelihood with the tobacco money they buy. . For this reason, it is necessary to raise our tobacco farmers to an income level that will provide the right to live humanely without any trouble by working continuously for a year. For this purpose, it is essential to inform our tobacco producers to provide a low-cost production and to rush into machine production. In recent years, mechanization in tobacco production has gained momentum, but it will take time to reach the desired level.
Tobacco planting machines became widespread in the Aegean Region in the 1990s. Tobacco planting is not done by hand anymore. Hoeing should be done twice in tobacco fields, besides hand hoeing, hoeing is done with hoeing machines and apparatus attached to the back of the tractor.
Tobacco crushers have also been increasing in recent years. Tobacco crushers are attached to the back of the tractor, people sitting on it crush at the speed of the tractor that goes in half reinforcement. The crushers put the tobacco they have broken into the tray in a row, the filled trays are placed in the frames by one person or the thin long trays with tobacco sorting apparatus are placed with the leaf ends down, the tobacco is transferred to the rope by inserting a rope through the hole at the end of the tray and the tobacco is placed in the crushers or greenhouse for drying. In addition, the crushed tobacco is filled into the nets by means of air blowing with tobacco netting machines and they are dried. Again in recent years, the tobaccos that have been crushed are 1 * 1.5 or 0.9 * 1.80 m. They are placed in wooden frames and dried. The most difficult and costly part of tobacco, crushing and sorting works are easier and cheaper by means of tool and machine.
Tütüncüler is now trying to take part in production with more machines than in the past. Tobacco companies have had to make an effort to sustain the decrease in tobacco producers with machines.