Harvest of Astragalus Honey Started in Ağrı

The harvest of geographically indicated astragalus honey produced in the high altitude regions of Ağrı with rich vegetation has begun.

Beekeepers who go to high altitude regions in the spring months work intensively to obtain quality honey.

Producers who took care of their bees day and night for months started to harvest the registered astragalus honey specific to the region.

Governor Mustafa Koç, Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Mehmet Hüseyinoğlu and Ağrı Beekeepers Association President Erol Kılıç attended the honey harvest of Cafer Öner, who is a beekeeper in Murat village of the city center.

Governor Koç, who accompanied beekeeper Öner for a while, removed and cleaned the combs from the hives and then milked the honey.

Governor Koç, in his statement to reporters here, said that they were doing their best to provide all kinds of support to beekeepers, as they do to other producers.

Reminding that “Ağrı Geven Honey” was registered with a geographical indication certificate 2 years ago, Koç said, “The fame of Ağrı honey has reached all over Turkey and even the world. The registration of honey has increased both the market share and the competitive power of the producers. We strive to support our beekeepers with technical and material support so that they can receive the reward of their labor and beekeeping becomes more widespread.”

550 beekeepers produce honey in 70 thousand hives

Koç explained that there are 550 beekeepers in the city, 300 of whom are local and 250 of whom are migrants, registered according to the beekeeper registration system, and that honey is produced in 70 thousand hives.

Emphasizing that they continue to support producers to further expand beekeeping, Koç continued as follows:

“Recently, within the scope of the ‘Long Live Bees, Let Life Flourish’ project, we provided various items of material support to 100 beekeepers. A while ago, we distributed solar panels for electricity, one of the biggest needs of our beekeepers. In the past years, we provided beehive support worth approximately 3 million liras to 89 farmers. We will strive to continue the support and stand by beekeepers. We will always be by their side.”

Stating that 300-350 tons of honey is produced annually in Ağrı, Koç said, “According to the estimates of our friends, we aim to get around 400 tons of honey this year. Not only the registered astragalus honey, but also flower honeys with very different aromas are produced in the regions covered with thousands of flowers in the summer months, as we have seen with the wisdom of God.”

Koç added that they will organize a honey festival in September this year, as in previous years.