Harvest Has Begun, but Farmers Are Disappointed After Rain and Heat Hit Corn

Corn harvesting has begun in Kahramanmaraş, but producers are facing a disappointing season after heavy rain and a sudden spell of hot weather.

Corn planted in February and March covers about 28,000 decares in the Onikişubat and Dulkadiroğlu districts. Combine harvesters are working in the fields, and the crop is being sent to traders for use as animal and poultry feed.

Mehmet Çetinkaya, president of the Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Agriculture, said yields had fallen because cold weather and rainfall ended just before temperatures rose sharply. The conditions affected the period when the corn was filling its grains, he said, resulting in losses of roughly 20% to 30% compared with previous years.

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Yield and output are somewhat low because of the rainfall. This is making it a disappointing harvest for our farmers.

“Yield and output are somewhat low because of the rainfall. This is making it a disappointing harvest for our farmers,” Çetinkaya said. He added that average yields in the region stood at about 1.1 to 1.2 tonnes per decare, while the open-market price was around 14 lira.

Producer Mustafa Kuzugüden also described yields as weaker than last year. “Our corn yields are somewhat weak compared with the previous year,” he said, attributing the decline to abundant rain and noting that traders later direct the crop to animal feed.

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Our corn yields are somewhat weak compared with the previous year.