Encouraging Fava Bean and Pea Cultivation during the Winter in the GAP Region (2005)

Summary

In response to a need by small land farmers in Sanliurfa, Turkey to increase their yearly profits, HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Abrak in 2005 to create an educational fava bean and pea cultivation project. Mr. Abrak, who participated in HasNa’s water resource management training in 2002, felt that fava beans and peas grown during the winter would be an excellent supplement to small land farmers’ income.

Through a hands-on training program, local farmers learned how to prepare the soil, install an irrigation system, plant, fertilize, harvest, and market their crop. Prior to this program there had been no other examples of fava bean and pea cultivation in the region.

By implementing the techniques they learned in the program, the participants increased their incomes, created job opportunities for their community, and passed the knowledge they had learned on to their neighboring farmers. Encouraging others to grow fava beans and peas has helped to further development in the region and has led to an increase in the cultivation of alternative crops.