19.08.2026 11:30
Mehmet Salih Demir, a farmer in Batman's Gercüş district, planted the saffron plant, which he researched and became curious about on the internet, on his land, achieving a first in the district. Demir, who obtained high yields from the trial planting he started by evaluating the empty areas between his pistachio and grape vineyards, aims to expand saffron production, which is easy to work with and yields 10 times more profit than pistachios, across all his lands.
Mehmet Salih Demir, a farmer living in the Poyraz village of Batman's Gercüş district, achieved great success by planting the saffron plant, which he saw on the internet and became curious about, as a trial. Demir, who increased his production from just 10 square meters in the first year to 800 square meters, stated that saffron's return is approximately 10 times higher than pistachios and grapes, and he accomplished a first in Gercüş.
Mehmet Salih Demir, who farms in Poyraz village, planted saffron by utilizing the empty spaces in his existing pistachio and grape orchard. Thanks to this method, the producer managed to earn income from three separate products on the same land, and he expressed that saffron's labor is much easier and more enjoyable compared to pistachios and grapes, while its return is approximately 10 times higher than the other products.
ON-SITE INSPECTION AND SUPPORT FROM THE DISTRICT DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
Gercüş District Director of Agriculture and Forestry Kenan Atalay and agricultural engineers, who visited Poyraz village, visited farmer Mehmet Salih Demir, who produces saffron, on his land, conducted inspections, and congratulated him for his success. Officials from the District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry emphasized that they will continue to provide all possible technical and knowledge-based support to producers growing alternative crops in the region.
DIRECTOR ATALAY: THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE SPICE
Speaking in the field, Gercüş District Director of Agriculture and Forestry Kenan Atalay made the following statements: "We are carrying out the saffron planting of one of our farmers who has integrated the saffron plant among the pistachio orchards in our village. Saffron is known as the world's most expensive spice. It is a plant that requires very little effort and little water. Its return is high, and its labor is very low. As our Minister stated, with the motto 'let not a single span of land remain unplanted,' we aim to achieve the highest yield per unit area by planting saffron among both our pistachios and our vineyards."
"I GOT MORE YIELD THAN I EXPECTED"
Farmer Mehmet Salih Demir, who is the first person to start saffron farming in Gercüş, described the process and future goals with these words: "Right now, I only have pistachio and grape vineyards. In addition to that, I deal with saffron. But if things go this way, I am thinking of leaving the pistachios and grapes and expanding the saffron to a larger area. The saffron idea came while browsing the internet. Last year, I decided and tried it, planting a little. Then this saffron flower came out beautifully. I got a good yield; I didn't expect it to yield that much. I thought about planting the whole field next year, and of course, I decided this year too. I planted one of my fields entirely. Hopefully, next year I will start planting all my other lands. I will continue this way, God willing. I am doing this saffron farming as a first in Gercüş."