MUĞLA'S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT TURNED INTO DOMESTIC INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIAL

MEHMET KAYA – ANKARA

Source: Dünya Haber

EGET started domestic production of “lavender oil” and “lavender water”, which Turkey is an importer of.

The Education Geriatrics Ecological Agriculture Tourism (EGET) Foundation, which carries out its activities based in Muğla, has started the local production of “lavender oil” and “lavender water”, of which Turkey is an importer, by making an initiative that will set an example for the farmers of the region after producing the first lavender in the coastal regions. Özlem Uzman, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of EGET Foundation, which gives all of its income as educational scholarships to students, said: “With this initiative, we have obtained high value-added industrial input from agricultural products. Our country imports a lot of vegetable-based oils and juices. If we look further, a very high added value is created by transforming this industrial input into retail products. It is possible for this added value to remain in the pockets of our farmers. We are proud to have demonstrated this.”

Truffle became a scholarship for students EGET Foundation has created a production area in the Armutçuk Agricultural Enterprise inoculated with black truffles, known as the food of the rich. The first lavender was planted in 2016 on the land where the oak saplings grafted to the truffle, the first harvest of which is expected next year. This year, the first lavender oil and lavender water were produced in the facilities of Muğla Municipality.

Speaking to DÜNYA, EGET Chairman Özlem Uzman said, “EGET is a foundation and our main goal is to provide scholarships to low-income students who are studying. In addition to showing ways to ensure that our farmers earn more income, we have found a new opportunity to give scholarships to more students. As EGET Foundation, we have proved that the lavender oil and lavender water we obtained after distillation in the Metropolitan Municipality facilities can be used, and that our country can domestically produce the inputs that we currently import from agricultural products and forest products.” Stating that all kinds of tests are carried out on the products, Uzman said, “We are going through a difficult period in agriculture and industry. Our country imports a lot of raw materials. We even import products that can be produced by our farmers. Among the products we import are lavender, citrus, mint, citronellol (a product produced from rose and geranium leaves) oils. When we look at oils and hydrosols, solutions and resinoids obtained from plants, we are talking about an annual import of approximately 33.5 million dollars.”

Safai Özer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of EGET, stated that they have set an example of sustainable agriculture in both environmental and economic terms and said, “The process of obtaining cosmetic products from lavender oil and lavender water has shown us that it is possible to obtain a very high added value from an agricultural product. With a simple calculation, you can obtain an industrial input of 2,500 TL from 4 acres of lavender, which is only two years old, but if you turn it into a consumer product at retail, a turnover of 40 thousand TL is also possible.”

Lavender oil and hydrosol are also turning into retail cosmetics On the other hand, EGET also transforms lavender oil and lavender water into retail cosmetic products with higher added value. EGET TEN branded products, which have received all kinds of tests and permits from the Ministry of Health, have been launched on the market.