In Konya, one of Turkey's sunflower production centers, farmers are turning to the production of snack sunflower seeds due to price performance.
Professor Dr. Süleyman Soylu, Faculty Member of the Selçuk University Faculty of Agriculture, stated that Konya is a very significant production hub with approximately 2 million hectares of agricultural land.
Soylu pointed out that farmers in the region mainly focus on planting corn and sugar beets. He stated, "The favored crop after these is sunflower seeds for snacking. The most important factor in this is the considerably high price of the seeds and the yield obtained per unit area. Similar yields to oilseed sunflowers are obtained. Sunflower farming in our region is carried out under irrigated conditions, with yields ranging from 400 to 550 kilograms per hectare. Our farmers have started to achieve the same yields in snack sunflower seeds as well."
Bekir Kağnıcıoğlu, President of the Altınekin Chamber of Agriculture, stated, "Seed planting in the Konya Plain continues to increase every year. Snack sunflower seeds have become the most determining factor in terms of price and yield."
