In Yozgat, the scythe workers, who earn one thousand 500 liras per day and 45 thousand liras per month, but whose numbers are decreasing day by day, have started to work for harvesting green lentils.
Farmers in Yozgat, which ranks first in green lentil production in Turkey, opened the harvest season. While some farmers harvest green lentils with the help of machinery, others harvest with the help of scythe with traditional methods. With the development of technology, the workers, whose numbers are decreasing day by day and who make their living with scythe work, started their hard work with the harvest of green lentils. Scythe workers, who start work in the early hours of the morning, continue to work under the hot weather reaching 30 degrees Celsius. Scythe workers, who work for a daily wage of 1,500 liras, earn their livelihood in the fertile lands of Çalatlı village in the center of Yozgat.
“I went on vacation and I come back and scythe”
Ali Osman Akyol, who had to return from Antalya, where he went on vacation because there were no scythe workers in Yozgat, said, “I have been working as a scythe worker since I was about 16 years old. I came back to Yozgat from Antalya while on vacation. Friends called me. They couldn’t find a man to work, they told me, so I came here and I am working. I have been working in the scythe business for 40 years, I work for 1,500 liras a day, last year our daily wage was 800 liras. There are not many scythes left except in Yazıpınar village, everyone is old. There are only 3 of us left. I guess scythe farming will end at this rate. Mowing with a machine is both expensive and there is more crop loss. Scythe is better. It is not easy to work under the sun, but we have to,” he said.
“It is very difficult to find scythe workers”
Hıfzı Erdoğan, who came from Yazıpınar village, stated that he has been scything since he was 15 years old and said, “It is very difficult in extreme heat, but we have to do it for a living. Our daily wage is 1,500 liras, scythes are not trained, those who know how to scythe are also old, it is difficult to find scythes. The machine costs a lot of money, so they choose the traditional method.”
“Without scythes, my crops will remain in the field”
Bünyamin Ayverdi, 64, one of the farmers harvesting with a scythe in Çalatlı village, said that he has been engaged in farming since he was 20 years old. Stating that he expects 5-6 tons of lentils from 20 acres of land, Ayverdi said, “Maybe it may be less, because this year the lentils got sick, the wind and heat dried the lentils. Therefore, the yield may decrease. We cannot find last year’s production this year. We also have difficulty in finding scythes, last year I brought 4 people, this year I could hardly find 3. They are also diminishing, last year I paid 800 liras per day, this year I pay a daily wage of 1,600 liras. Without them, the product will remain completely in the field, I cannot afford to have it mowed by machine. I will continue to plant lentils until these men are finished.”
