“We are planting our 12,000-year-old ancestral einkorn wheat”

Farmers who see the abundance of einkorn wheat, which feeds itself with snowmelt without the need for irrigation, aim to increase their production capacity. Planting has begun for einkorn wheat, a geographically indicated product known as the ancestor of wheat, which is cultivated on approximately 12,000 decares of land in the İhsangazi district of Kastamonu.

The planting of einkorn wheat, also known in the region as “kabulca,” “kaplıca,” or “Hittite bulgur,” was carried out by farmers before the snowfall.

Einkorn wheat, which is planted without the use of any chemical substances, grows with snowmelt without irrigation or the use of any fertilizers.

Farmers in the district, who are very pleased with the harvest they obtained in August and the interest shown by citizens, aim to increase production.

“WE ARE PLANTING OUR EINKORN WHEAT THAT WE WILL HARVEST IN 2024”

Vahittin Ciğerci, a farmer in İhsangazi, said, “We are planting the einkorn wheat that we will harvest in 2024. May God grant us all the best and a productive harvest. Hopefully, we will harvest it in July or August. For now, it is very good; God has permitted it. There has been no snowfall yet this year, and our planting coincided with the perfect time. In fact, einkorn wheat should be planted when it snows in the winter. Because einkorn is hulled, it does not suffer the slightest damage. That is why now is the time to plant einkorn seeds.”

“WE ARE PLANTING OUR 12,000-YEAR-OLD ANCESTRAL EINKORN WHEAT”

Yasin Ciğerci, a young farmer who produces einkorn in the İhsangazi district, said, “Today, we are planting our 12,000-year-old ancestral einkorn wheat in our field. We could not plant our einkorn wheat due to weather conditions. We could not plant einkorn because there was not enough precipitation and it did not rain. After the rainy weather, our preparation processes for planting took place in our field. We made our field ready. After making the field ready, we are bringing our einkorn wheat together with the soil. Einkorn is very important to us. After planting einkorn wheat, which is our source of livelihood, we harvest it in the summer. After harvesting, we process it in our stone mill.” Sebahattin Ciğerci, stating that they are bringing their 80-dönüm fields together with einkorn, said, “We are currently planting einkorn in our 80-dönüm field. We are hopefully bringing our 12,000-year-old ancestral seed, einkorn, together with the soil.”