Sabri Şıktaş, a farmer from Iğdır, in eastern Türkiye, transformed a 247-acre rocky area into farmland over eight years of work.
Living in the Karakoyunlu district of Iğdır, Şıktaş leased approximately 247 acres of rocky land for 25 years in 2011 as part of the "Pasture Improvement Project" implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
He collected and removed about 4,000 trailer loads of stones from the area, then installed an electricity system and solar panels.
Şıktaş also implemented modern agricultural systems, such as sprinkler irrigation and over the eight years turned the land into productive fields, cultivating silage corn, barley and alfalfa for six years.
During a visit to the farmer, Governor Ercan Turan noted that Şıktaş had collected all the stones from the approximately 247 acres of land and had carried out significant work over a period of eight years.
Turan added that solar panels had also been installed in the region, saying, "They have carried out remarkable alfalfa planting activities. They use the most modern techniques for irrigation. Our teams from the Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry support them. I thank them for this motivation. We see neighboring lands with surfaces that appear very rocky and unproductive; they collected the stones and cultivated the land. They are engaged in livestock farming and also improving our pastures. They fertilize the soil, irrigate it, perform soil analyses, and utilize renewable energy sources. We thank our farmer for this exemplary effort."
Sabri Şıktaş said they dug the land up to 1 meter deep and removed all the stones they found, adding, "We carried about 4,000 trailer loads of stones and removed them from the area. Some remained in the field, some were dumped outside. The stones we dumped outside were a burden for us but a benefit for the public. Citizens used them in their gardens, homes and barns. Our electricity line was private, which increased costs, so we switched to solar panels as a solution. Using electricity from the solar panels, we operate the sprinkler irrigation system and distribute water across the field."
Speaking about the rocky and drought-prone land at the foothills of Mount Ağrı, Şıktaş explained that their efforts have made the land productive:
"There is a significant difference in both time and yield between flood irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. With flood irrigation, the water was insufficient, but with sprinklers, we irrigate twice, increasing yield by 20%-30%. We did not leave any part of the field without water. The field now contains corn, barley and alfalfa."
