Turkey: The difficult harvest of spinach, an indispensable part of winter tables

In Bilecik, workers, mostly women, work in the fields despite the cold weather and harvest approximately 50 tons of spinach a day. Fresh spinach, which comes from the field at an average weight of 10-12 lira, reaches customers in many provinces of Turkey. Producers who plant spinach in the soil in September throughout Bilecik province continue production until the end of June. An average of 1,800 tons are harvested annually in 1,560 decares throughout the province. Farmers in Büyük Yenice Village of Osmaneli district, where most of this production takes place, can harvest products from the same land three times a year if they harvest early. Workers come to the village early in the morning, where 500 tons of spinach is harvested annually, to harvest the ripe spinach despite the harsh conditions of the winter season. Workers who have difficulty due to cold weather conditions warm up by lighting a fire where they work. The spinach, which is disassembled and filled into crates, is ...