12.05.2026 08:50
A hobby seedling production started by two retired friends in a 40-square-meter greenhouse in Tokat turned into a huge 4,000-square-meter operation over the years. Producing nearly 1.5 million seedlings annually, the entrepreneurs strive to keep up with orders coming from all over Turkey.
Two retired workers in Tokat expanded their seedling production, which they started as a hobby in 40 square meters, to 4,000 square meters.
Ahmet Yılmaz and Muhterem Çağatay wanted to engage in agriculture after retiring from a cigarette factory 15 years ago. The hobby of the two friends, who started seedling production as a hobby in a 40-square-meter greenhouse near the Tokat-Turhal highway and airport, turned into a source of income over time. The two friends are now trying to keep up with incoming orders.
"WE SEND SEEDLINGS TO 30 PROVINCES" Yılmaz told an AA correspondent that they produce approximately 45 varieties of seedlings in the greenhouse. Stating that the varieties they produce consist of local seeds, Yılmaz said, "We have no foreign-origin seeds. We have been in this sector for 15 years. We have tomato varieties, pepper varieties, and eggplant varieties. We only send our seedlings domestically. Particularly to the Tokat region. People from other provinces also reach us, and we have sales. Last year, we sent seedlings to 30 provinces. We sell directly from production."
"WE SELL 1.5 MILLION SEEDLINGS PER YEAR" Stating that the seedlings they produce are close to heirloom seeds, Yılmaz continued as follows:
"You can take the seeds from these seedlings, grow them, and multiply them. Currently, the base price is 7.5 lira. For the groups we call hybrids, such as stake tomatoes, F1 eggplants, and stuffed pepper seedlings, our per-piece sale is 15 lira. We cannot grow what we produce for this region alone. We sell between 1 and 1.5 million seedlings per year. We produce our seedlings from seeds approved by the Ministry of Agriculture. We do not use foreign-origin seeds. In this region, we use seeds belonging to our country. Within Tokat, we use seeds suitable for this area."
Expressing that they themselves are surprised at the point they have reached, Yılmaz said, "My friend Muhterem Çağatay and I built a small greenhouse. We started with that. Today, we have a 4,000-square-meter greenhouse in the production phase. We never even imagined we would come this far, but hard work brought us to a point where we now have a seedling production business. For this, we extend our thanks to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry."