IMPORTANCE OF SUGAR BEET — It enriches the gross national product by the added value which it ensures. ($ 3 BILLION)
- It is a product which grows up in Central Anatolian conditions and has no alternative.
— It improves the socio-economical condition of the countryside.
- It prevents the rural-urban migration by engaging the farmers to the land at the agricultural zones.
- It employs approximately 10 labour forces per 1 decare.
- The leader of crop rotation planned production and irrigated farming in agriculture. The sugar beet farming done by crop rotation system ensures efficiency increase in the crops which will be grown up after itself since it leaves a good, well-kept cropland. This efficiency increase may rise up to 20% in wheat.
- Farmer families around 450 thousand live on beet farming in our country.
- The farming of 1 decare of beet employs 93 hours in total, consisting of 80 hours in agriculture, 13 hours in industry. If it is considered that 3,2 million decares of sugar beet farming is done in our country, it ensures about 123.000 full employments per year. It is the job and subsistence of 10 million people of us, who has associated their livings to the sector directly or indirectly.
-Beet farming provides 20 times more employment compared to wheat, 10 times more compared to corn and 5 times more compared to sunflower out of alternative crops.
- While sugar beet provides 1 full employment per 26 decare in agriculture and industry, 1 full employment is provided per 200 decares of irrigated farming in corn farming done by using seed in Central Anatolia and 1 full employment is provided per 320 decares in wheat farming.
-32500 people are working in sugar plants as permanent and seasonaland
-Furthermore, it provides an opportunity of employment for 200 thousands of seasonal agriculture labor in treatment and harvest periods for duration of 100 days per year.
-The amount of barren agricultural land, which the farmers of sugar beet brought in irrigation water by their own capabilities is 1 700 000 decares.
-An additional employment of 36 million hours is provided in agriculture by 1,7 million decares of irrigated farming. It is the equivalent to15 000 full employments.
-Sugar beet farming makes 6 times more contribution to gross national product compared to wheat, 3,5 times more compared to sunflower.
- 1 hectare of beet, which is cultivated on the same unit of area, absorbs 1,5 times more carbon dioxide than pinewood per year as a result of photosynthesis.
- The oxygen, which 1 decare of sugar beet releases to the air by photosynthesis is equivalent to the oxygen consumed by 6 people in 1 year and it produces 3 times more oxygen than the same forest land. It is one of the most important trumps held by our country in intercountry emission trade which will begin in the framework of Kyoto Protocol in this respect.
- It is a plant which is the most important raw material of Bioethanol which is also defined as bioenergy or green energy and whose production and usage have become widespread in the world in the recent years.
- It is a plant which generates a great market for the transportation sector by creating an approximate transportation volume of 25 million tons per year.
- The animal feeding value of beet pulp, beet top and beet leaf and molasses, which are the by-products of 1 decare of beet are equivalent to 500 kg of barley. (It is supposed that 2 decares of barley is cultivated on the same land).
- The most important input which increases the quantity of vegetative production in our country, where the annual rain fall is 643 mm on an average, is undoubtedly irrigation method. In our country, 5,1 million hectares of 8,5 million hectares of our barren agricultural lands which will be able to be irrigated economically, have obtained the opportunity of irrigation water.
- As from 2006, total cultivation amount of land crops in our country is 17.560 thousand hectares and the cultivation of sugar beet is 3.256.995 decares. The cultivation proportion of sugar beet within the land crops is 1,85 %. 6,5 % of the irrigated lands is allocated to beet production through out ourcountry.
-Konya province gets a share of the sugar beet cultivation of our country approximately by 22%. The total cultivation amount of land crops of the province is 1.407.095 hectares and the cultivation amount of sugar beet is 73.530 hectares. The cultivation proportion of sugar beet within the land crops is 5,2 % and 25% of the irrigated lands through out the province is allocated to beet production. Total irrigated land resource of the province is 590.000 hectares and the irrigable land resource is 717.000 hectares.
-Having begun the efforts for directing from the wild irrigation systems to sprinkler irrigation system in all plant irrigations, sugar beet being in the first place; the producers of Turkey Sugar Plants Inc. have played an important role in saving up to 50-60% in water usage through reaching 70-100% levels in the applications of sprinkler irrigation although it has changed with respect to regions for the last 28 years. Nowadays, the sugar sector of our country has launched the leadership of passing to drip irrigation applications, which provides 20% more water saving with respect to sprinkler irrigation system.
- According to various research results, on the other hand, 500 - 650 mm of water in total is applied to sugar beet under optimum conditions. It is 500 - 700 mm in potato, 400 - 600 mm in corn, 550 - 850 mm in clover. As is seen, the water requirement of the plant is not more than the other crops.
- Sugar beet is a plant, which reserves the moisture in the soil, whose oxygen release to the atmosphere by its leaves is more than a forest land at the same amount. It draws rain fall through releasing oxygen to the atmosphere and contributes to the natural cycling of the water.
-25 % of sugar beet is dry matter and 75 % is water. An important part of the water, which is required at the stage of its processing in the plant, is met by the recycling of the water in the body of the beet. This indicates that sugar beet is an environmental plant in the process from the land to the time it becomes sugar.
- It has ensured the establishment and development of the industries, which manufacture agricultural instruments and machines such as artificial fertilizer, irrigation facilities and equipments, tractor, plow, cultivator, sweep, sowing machine, harrow-drill combinations, motor-pump, hoe and harvesting machines, combat instruments and pesticides.
-The fact that the cultivation system is based on alternation has enabled the monocultural agriculture structure to transform into polycultural agriculture structure.
-The fact that the beet cultivation requires an advanced technology has enhanced the agricultural knowledge and experience levels of our producers.
-The first cooperative formation in country’s agriculture in real terms has come true and developed thanks to beet farming. Thus, the foundation of producers’ organization has been laid.
-Molasses obtained from sugar beet is used by some of chemical industry branches and especially in the production of alcohol and ferment.
-Wet beet pulp and molasses which are by-products of sugar production and the top and leaf parts of the beet are used as animal feed. The fact that these by-products are easily obtainable and cheap helps to the livestock farming’s development and becoming widespread and generates source of additional income for this fraction. Wet beet pulp is granted free of charge to beet producer up to 25% of the net beet delivered.
As a result, sugar beet contributes to the national economy, employment and environment.
