The first of the flowers produced by the Bademler Agricultural Development Cooperative, which has become the “capital of flowers” in Turkey with the support of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, is offered for sale on the flower exchange of the Netherlands, which has a 49 percent share in world flower exports. President Soyer, who participated live in the auction of the “Vidaca Ammi Casablanca” type flower, which was put up for sale at Royal Flora Holland, said, “We want the flowers of İzmir to bloom all over the world, just as the flowers bloomed in the mountains of İzmir. We will continue this struggle in order to keep our small producer alive and to ensure that he is fed in the place where he was born.”
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerThe Izmir Agriculture strategy, implemented in line with the vision of "Another Agriculture is Possible", is bearing fruit. With the support of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, flower producers in Urla Bademler entered the world's largest flower exchange. The first cut flower type “Vidaca Ammi Casablanca” produced by Bademler Village Agricultural Development Cooperative for the flower market of the Netherlands, which has a 49 percent share in world flower exports, was auctioned in Royal Flora Holland, which has an area of 950 hectares. President to the sales bell of the first auction Tunç Soyer pressed. Vidaca Ammi Casablanca met with 12 different buyers on its first auction day.
Our goal is to make the small manufacturer an exporter.
Attending the auction via live link, President Soyer said, “I am very excited. It can be seen as a small step we are taking now. One of our products is on sale. However, it is a very big and valuable step for us, for Bademler Village Agricultural Development Cooperative. If the small producer cannot market the product it produces to the world, then the value of what it produces is definitely below its real value. However, if the competitive power increases, if it reaches the point where it can compete in the international arena, then the producer is satisfied. He continues to earn by producing his bread. Our dream of making the small producer an exporter is the most important point of the target of “Another Agriculture is Possible” from the very beginning.
We are on the right track
Expressing that he had been to Royal Flora, one of the largest auction areas in the Netherlands, President Soyer said: “It is truly an extraordinarily large organization with flowers everywhere, like an anthill. This is a facility established by small producers. That producer is the small producer that lives there. For us, on the other hand, agriculture is seen as a job for large-scale industrialists. It is considered that the agriculture should be done on a large scale, and the industrialists should do it. So what should the small producer do? They want him to leave his village, join the unemployment army, and become a cheap worker. Because it is looked at like this, land is being tried to be rented in Venezuela. Yet we see. The Netherlands has brought together the small producer and created an auction ground that dominates the world. The Dutch do about 50 percent of the world's flower trade. Small manufacturers do. In short, why shouldn't our cooperatives grow? Why not join hands and participate in world markets? We will make that dream come true. These ancestral seeds have crept into these fertile lands for thousands of years. We want the flowers of İzmir to bloom all over the world, just as the flowers bloomed in the mountains of İzmir. I believe we will do this together. We are on the right track. We will continue this struggle in order to keep our small producer alive, so that his family can be fed in the place where he was born.”
We have come to this point with the vision of President Soyer
Reminding that today is an exciting morning for İzmir, Holland İzmir Honorary Consul Ahmet Oğuz Özkardeş said, “We are at this point today as a result of our Bronze President's vision that is open to abroad and the importance he attaches to cooperatives in the region. From now on, we will talk about how many flowers we sell and how many new products we produce.”
This is just the beginning
World Own Izmir Association (DIDER) Vice Chairman of the Board Can Ersoy said, “Our President Tunç SoyerBeing here excites and encourages us. Mahmut Türkmenoğlu, the founder of Bademler Village Agricultural Development Cooperative, is an important cooperative, and this is the greatest legacy he left us. As DİDER, we have worked to make this cooperative more resilient. One of our activities was the flower sale we conducted with our Dutch Office. Today we are at a starting point. We will continue this beginning with brand new flowers in the coming period. As DİDER, we are very honored to be involved in this issue.”
We rise from the ashes like a phoenix
Bademler Village Development Cooperative President Murat Kulaç said that he was very excited to see the flowers they produced in the Netherlands for sale. We had our first excitement at the seed sowing ceremony. Today, I cannot describe my excitement to you. We had to be successful. Our success would pave the way for İzmir and other cooperatives. We're so into this thing. This success of our cooperative will accelerate the work of other cooperatives. Like the phoenix, we rise from the ashes. We learned the steps of this work step by step. We'll just have to get a truck to run to the Netherlands. We would like to thank Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, DIDER and professional chambers.”
Who participated?
To the live link from Bademler Village Agricultural Development Cooperative to the Dutch Flower Exchange, Netherlands İzmir Honorary Consul Ahmet Oğuz Özkardeş, Gaziemir Mayor Halil Arda, Karaburun Mayor İlkay Girgin Erdoğan, World City İzmir Association (DİDER) Chairman Ahmet Güler, DİDER Can Ersoy, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Murat Kulaç, Head of Bademler Village Development Cooperative, Chairman of the Advisory Board for IOT Netherlands Turks, Ahmet Altan and Ruhisu Can Al, Advisor to the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Zeki Baran, Head of DIDER Amsterdam Izmir Office, and muhtars attended.
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