Money that no one believes in

How would a farmer react if a customer told them they wanted to pay more for their products from now on? They wouldn't believe it. Such a thing never occurs. The story of the Turkish producers who supply us with their figs is a case in point.

Seven family farmers live in the mountainous region around the city of Aydin in western Turkey. They grow mountain figs on small plots averaging 4 hectares and dry them in the sun. They sell these figs on the global market through the export company OTS Organik.

We've been a customer of these family farmers since 2020. It's unclear whether they knew at the time that they were selling to gebana. But they certainly know about us now, because we showed them that we trade differently than they are used to with other customers.

That was the year we told them we wanted to include them in our gebana model. They had a hard time believing the most important part of the plan: "We'll pay you 10 per cent of our sales price in addition to the organic purchase price," we explained.

We've been doing it this way for a long time. In fact, we started in 2019 and have been including more family farmers in the gebana model every year since then. The family farmers were sceptical, which is understandable.

After all, when has a customer ever gone out of their way to pay more for something? It's absolutely unheard of, especially if this customer is also a company that relies on its profits.

But they received the money in 2023, as promised. What did the family farmers do with it? "They used the money to buy a television or pay off their debts," says Murat Ersoy, Managing Director of our partner OTS Organik.

Could they have perhaps feared that it was a mistake? Given the average payout of 4'100 euros per family, they may have wondered: Is gebana really serious about this?

gebana premium of 28'960 euros for seven fig producers

In the meantime, the families have received the premium from the gebana model a second time – a total of 28'960 euros, an average of 4'100 euros per family. It's slowly dawning on them that yes, gebana is serious. "When they received the premium payments again and realised that something was actually being done for them, they began to believe in it. Now they're also doing more," says Ersoy.

At this point, we need to clarify again that the premium from the gebana model is unconditional. In other words, the family farmers can do whatever they want with the money. Whether they buy a television or pay off their debts – it's entirely up to them. Still, we always hope that they'll invest the money in their operations.

When we distribute the payments, we always show the family farmers various ways they could improve. They're free to follow through – or not. Experience has shown us that, after the second payment, they start to think differently.

For example, they may decide to work more closely with OTS, have their soils analysed by them and then work together to improve the soil based on the results. "Before this model, farmers were very independent. They sold us figs, but we had no influence on the way they worked," says Ersoy. "We were like two separate entities. The gebana model enables us to act as a group."

Today, the family farmers sometimes even ask Ersoy how things are going on the Swiss market. "It's very interesting for them to know that the produce they pack goes straight to the consumer. They feel a connection with gebana and are happy to be a part of it."

About OTS Organik

OTS Organik is our partner based in Izmir, Turkey. The company was founded in 2010 by Atila Ertem, a trained agronomist and the country's organic pioneer. He has been dedicated to sustainable agriculture since the 1980s.

The mountain figs available in our shop are sourced from small-scale family farmers in the mountainous region around the city of Aydin in western Turkey. They specialise in the Smyrna variety, which grows on trees with deep roots. These trees cope well with the harsh mountain climate and are resistant to diseases and pests.

The families harvest the fruit from late August to early September, when they are already beginning to dry on the tree. After harvesting, the fruit is left to dry in the sun for 2 to 4 days. It is then sent to Mehmet Gönülaçar's sorting and packaging plant in İncirliova. Gönülaçar is the son of one of the seven producers who have been supplying us with mountain figs since 2020.