Child Cherry Blossom Workers

The harvest continues in the cherry orchards in the Sultandağı district of Afyonkarahisar. While garden owners and seasonal workers work hard, out-of-town children with their families pick cherries for their daily wages.

İlyas Yıldız (10) said that they paid 40 lira for a box of cherries and that he would buy cake and coke with the money he received.

The harvest of ‘Apolyont’ type cherries, grown in Sultandağı, one of the most important cherry production centers in the world and in Turkey, continues. Cherries collected from thousands of trees by hundreds of workers in the gardens are exported to various countries around the world.

In Sultandağı, where a third of Turkey’s cherry exports are located, a kilo of cherries finds buyers at 40-45 lira. The yield, which was 5 thousand tons last year in Sultandağı due to frost, is expected to increase 8 times this year to 40 thousand tons.

SEASONAL WORKERS AT CHERRY WORK

Sultandağı Mayor Mehmet Aldırmaz said that there is a total production of 40 thousand tons in the district center and its villages: “We have a total of 35 thousand tons of export products in Sultandağı alone. We have exports to Europe, USA. Our second grade cherries are evaluated in the Iraqi and Russian markets. Together with the Sultandağı region, we account for 1/3 of the total cherry exports in Turkey. Our contribution to the economy continues in a serious way,” he said.

In addition to garden owners, seasonal workers who come to the district work hard in the cherry orchards. The cherries are carefully picked from the tree, placed in boxes and shipped to the exporting companies on tractors. The children of the temporary workers also pick cherries to support their families.

CHILDREN ALSO IMMIGRATE FOR SEASONAL WORK

İrfan Arıkan (24), who is preparing for the Medical Specialization Education Entrance Examination (TUS), said: “We also came to work because it was my father’s garden. Now I have free time. We are preparing for both TUS and cherry for 2-3 months. While picking cherries, I also prepare for TUS in my free time. There are 200 trees in our garden. I guess 4-5 tons of cherries will come out compared to other years,” he said.

Stating that he came to Sultandağı with his family from Şanlıurfa to pick cherries, İlyas Yıldız said that they paid 40 lira per day for a box of cherries and that he would buy cake and coke with the money he received.

İlyas’s cousin, Mehmet Furkan Yıldız (16), also said: “We are picking cherries with our family from an agreed orchard. We will stay here for a month, then we will go to Ordu and collect hazelnuts,” he said. (DHA)