Organized under the leadership of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, in cooperation with Mut Municipality, Göksu Irrigation Cooperative and various civil society organizations, the 4th Göksu Gravga Plum Festival was held in Mut's Göksu (formerly Gravga) Neighborhood with a large turnout. The festival, which aims to contribute to the promotion of plums, one of the important sources of income in the region, to support local products and to highlight cultural richness, provided enjoyable moments for participants with entertaining activities that lasted throughout the day.
Winners of the 'Most Beautiful Plum Competition' Announced
The winner of the 'Most Beautiful Plum Competition', which opened the festival and challenged the jury members, was a plum from a producer named Cüveyra Köse. Düriye Şimşek came in second and Sıdıka Aras came in third. The awards were presented to the producers who won by CHP Mersin Deputy Hasan Ufuk Çakır, Mut Mayor Murat Orhan and Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Agricultural Services Department Head Selçuk Şahutoğlu.
Culture and Art Were Together at the Festival
The festival, which was enlivened with the Mut Municipality Folk Dance show, continued with speeches and an award ceremony. Special plaques were given to Mahmut Şirvani, who brought the first plum sapling to Mut, and Osman Zehir, who established the first large plum garden. Poets Osman Gündoğdu and Hüseyin Cılız gave a poetry recital at the festival, while local artists Ali Aksoy and Grup Vahde sang popular folk songs of the region. In the finale of the festival, the songs sung by the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Turkish Folk Music Ensemble gave unforgettable moments to the participants. Local products and handicrafts were exhibited throughout the day at the stands set up in the area.
Mayor Orhan: “We Serve Shoulder to Shoulder with the Metropolitan Municipality”
Starting his speech by greeting the farmers who produce with their labor, Mut Mayor Murat Orhan emphasized that Mut hosts many valuable products and is the place where the most organic farming is done in Türkiye. Thanking those who contributed to the organization of the festival, Orhan especially thanked Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer and said, “We have served shoulder to shoulder with all our requests for Mut until today as Mut Municipality and Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, and we will continue to serve from now on.”
Şahutoğlu: “Agriculture is the Future of Our Country”
Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Agricultural Services Department Director Selçuk Şahutoğlu began his speech by conveying the greetings of Mayor Vahap Seçer. Şahutoğlu stated that they see agriculture not only as a source of income but also as the future of the city and the country, and under the leadership of Mayor Seçer, they acted with a social municipality approach that rewarded sweat and prioritized labor. Şahutoğlu stated that as Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, they created a pioneering model that brings together all agricultural and social support they provide in the city with production, and noted that they support small family businesses, cooperatives, youth and producers and stand by them. Şahutoğlu emphasized that they see agriculture not only as an area that needs support, but also as the guarantee of sustainable development and life in the village, and said that they work together with producers in the chain from production to harvest and market.
“Agriculture Means the Heart of Mut”
Şahutoğlu, who stated that they have provided many services to hundreds of farmers and producers in Mersin as the Metropolitan Municipality, from seedling-sapling-onion supports to livestock and machinery-equipment supports, stated that they will continue to be with producers in every field of agriculture. Şahutoğlu, who shared the agricultural supports they have provided as Mersin Metropolitan Municipality both in the city and in Mut district with numerical data since 2019, said, “Agriculture means the heart of Mut. We have continued our agricultural supports in the last 6 years by supporting our farmers and producers with the supports we have provided in Mut district. We provide our supports by supporting niche products that are suitable for regions and regions and will grow in that region. We find plum valuable and important not only as a product or fruit grown only in Mut, but also in terms of the progress of this region and Mut agriculture and the sustainability of life in the village. With these festivities, we are actually also providing support in terms of the promotion and marketing of plums grown in the Mut Gravga region and plums that are exported.” Emphasizing that they continue to support every branch of agriculture, Şahutoğlu said that a strong agriculture means a strong future.
Full Support for the Festival from Producers and Citizens
Plum Producer Merih Yıldız, told the story of how plums came to Göksu and the important periods of plum production, and stated that the festival was not only a celebration but also an important opportunity for the promotion of Göksu. Emphasizing that plums are not just a fruit in these lands, but also a source of income for a large mass of people, Yıldız said that they will continue to work to ensure that producers receive the value they deserve, and thanked those who contributed to the organization of the festival.
Müge Yeşiltepe, one of the citizens who attended the festival from the center of Mersin, stated that everything and the plums were very nice and appreciated the support of the Metropolitan Municipality. Hacer Öcal, who has been living in Mut for 5 years, said that she was amazed by the taste of Gravga plums in the festival she attended for the first time. Gülsüm Vatansever also stated that she liked the festival very much, thanked Mayor Vahap Seçer and emphasized the importance of support given to agriculture. Doğan Kelek and Cevat Yılmaz, who attended the festival, stated that such events are important for social integration and should be held more frequently.
