Batman Province Wraps Lentil Harvest as Yields Jump 50% on Heavy Rains
Turkey's Batman province, the country's third-largest lentil producer, has completed its 2025 harvest with yields up about 50% on strong winter and spring rainfall. Output of roughly 25,000 tonnes added more than 1.125 billion lira to the local economy, officials said.
Batman Wraps Up Final Lentil Harvest of the Season
Farmers in Batman, a province in southeastern Turkey, have completed this year's lentil harvest, the last of the season, according to DHA. Batman ranks third nationally in lentil production after Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır. Winter and spring rainfall lifted yields by roughly 50% compared with last year, provincial Agriculture and Forestry Director Necdet Tuncer said.
- Total 2025 lentil output: approximately 25,000 tonnes
- Average yield: about 150 kilograms per decare
- Yield and harvest volume up roughly 50% year-on-year
- Economic contribution to Batman province: more than 1.125 billion lira
- Current price: around 45 lira per kilogram
Dry Farmland and a Rotation Crop
Batman cultivates about 1 million decares of farmland in total, with lentils grown on roughly 15% of that area, mostly on arid, non-irrigated land, Tuncer said. Harvesting began in the second half of June, following what Tuncer described as an unusually wet and productive rainfall season. Lentils have been designated one of the main crops under Turkey's agricultural production planning program, in place since 2024, and are used as a rotation crop alongside grain on dry farmland, according to Tuncer.
Prices, Quality and Distribution
Turkey's Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, known as Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri, are handling purchases from farmers at this year's price of around 45 lira per kilogram, Tuncer said. He said Turkish-grown lentils are higher quality than much of global production, citing the climate, sun and water conditions of the Mesopotamia region. After harvest, the crop is stored in licensed warehouses and silos, then packaged at processing facilities into 1-kilogram and 5-kilogram units for distribution to the food sector nationwide.
A Labor-Intensive Crop for Local Farmers
Süleyman Demir, a farmer in Batman's Oymataş village, said his operation farms 7,000 dönüm of dry and irrigated land, growing lentils primarily on the dry portion. He said this year's harvest, wrapped up on the day of DHA's report, is benefiting from a rainy and abundant season. Demir said lentil farming demands roughly nine months of labor a year and called on authorities to further develop support for the crop, describing it as a generations-old family occupation that he continues alongside his legal profession.
