Adana maintains its prominent position in honey production with its rich vegetation and support provided. Last year, approximately 2,470 beekeepers in the city produced 12,280 tons of honey in 495,000 hives. Beekeepers in the Adana region have started harvesting the first honey of the year from the combs.
Adana stands out in beekeeping due to its climate and rich natural and agricultural vegetation, maintaining its top position in honey production with the support provided. Beekeepers in Adana place their hives in citrus orchards during winter, around sunflower fields at the beginning of spring and summer, and harvest honey in rich flora areas in the Toros Mountains and other high-altitude regions of the country during summer.
Adana's beekeepers, who harvested the first honey of the year with citrus honey, are supported by Mehmet Nuri Kökçüoğlu, the provincial director of agriculture and forestry, who mentioned that the Çukurova region is preferred by local and visiting beekeepers for overwintering due to its ecological conditions and flora from November to May.
"We are important in beekeeping with citrus orchards in the plain and rich flora in the mountainous areas. Every year, approximately 150,000 hives from 33 provinces come to our province for the winter. We have 495,000 active beehives, and 2,470 families make their living from beekeeping. With the 12,280 tons of honey we produce, we rank second in Türkiye," he said, adding: "We collect not only fruit but also honey from our citrus trees. The first citrus honey has been harvested in our province. Congratulations."
Kökçüoğlu emphasized that state support for beekeepers continues, mentioning that TL 25 million ($770,000) was paid to beekeepers in Adana as support for the year 2023.
"As the Provincial Directorate, we provide training to our stakeholders, offer hive support, provide medications for bee diseases, and distribute sugar for winter maintenance and feeding. These supports will continue to increase in the coming years," he added.
In the coming days, Adana's beekeepers will harvest sunflower honey in the plains as sunflowers bloom, and then they will move their bees to the city's high plateaus, where they will stay until late autumn.
