The “nut capital” of the world is under threat from climate change, so what’s the story?

The tradition of growing hazelnuts in this region goes back thousands of years, as the Greek historian Herodotus, known as the “Father of History” in ancient Greece, spoke of on the abundance of hazelnuts in the area now known as “Turkey” in the fifth century. BC. Since 1400 AD, Europe and other countries have been importing hazelnuts from Giresun and the surrounding area on the eastern side of the Black Sea to Europe and beyond.

Before a group of hazelnuts reaches, for example, a package of Nutella chocolate, the plant is cultivated in places like Turkey, and in Giresun, women have continued to grow hazelnuts since long ago, but today women take care of making and selling hazelnuts too, like chocolate products.

In the past, nuts were often exported abroad and then sold back to Türkiye in the form of other products such as chocolate bars and fats. However, companies such as Home of Hazelnut, which is run by three sisters and has a long history of producing local hazelnuts, are starting to change this perception.

“In this region, women produce 80 percent of the hazelnut crop,” said Sayari Sungor, one of the company’s owners, to BBC Discovery World Table presenter Nick Quick.

She said: “Women are always better at taking care of these nuts, whether in the fields or in the gardens. So now we want these women to be farmers and decision makers.”

Since its establishment nine years ago, the company has maintained the ancient traditions of Giresun, while serving as an example for a new generation of local women Songur is proud of her family’s success and how it has inspired women others in the area to launch their own businesses.

“Now that many women are starting to see the value of this product now, more women are starting to make it and own it, and I think that’s a good thing ,” she told the BBC.

Although the hazelnut industry in Turkey is still thriving, problems are looming, as is the case in many areas around the world, especially as the country’s capacity hazel trees and shrubs grow at risk from environmental factors, as climate change affects. on the crop here, leading to more moisture and pests, both of which can stunt the growth of hazelnut plants and kill them.

“(Because of climate change) new pests have spread over the last three or four years,” says Sibat Ozmen-Sullivan, a plant protection scientist and hazelnut grower in Giresun.

She says: “It’s a big problem and needs to be combated because it eats a lot of plants. High humidity also leads to the appearance of mold disease,” explaining that hazelnuts like usually thrives in drier climates.

Ozman-Sullivan fears that local efforts to reduce the spread of pests are doing more harm than good. “People use pesticides (but… live),” she says.

The hazel farmers of Giresun are very proud of the abundance that their unique sea-mountain ecosystem contributes, and many of them, like Ozman Sullivan, are trying to protect the ecosystem and their traditions for future generations.

“We want to continue growing hazelnuts in this beautiful landscape,” she said.