Samsun is a centre of attraction for the development of vegetable and fruit growing, field crops, aquaculture and livestock sub-sectors because natural sources such as climate, soil, experience and topography are suitable for production.

 

Samsun is particularly attractive for foreign investors especially in value added areas such as winter vegetables, organic products, good agricultural products, seeds, seedlings, storage, logistics, contract farming, bakery products, food processing and packaging.

 

Due to the presence of fertile plains, the vegetable sub-sector is an important agricultural activity that is practiced intensively and requires labour. Samsun is very convenient to grow vegetables under open and covered conditions with its suitable climate structure. Most grown products in this area are vegetables such as pepper, green beans, cucumber, cabbage, leek, eggplant, tomato, pumpkin, watermelon, melon, lettuce, spinach and cauliflower.

 

In the field of fruit production, dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit gardens, which have been generated with suitable varieties in the last years, have started to offer important production potential and raw material to fruit exporters and fruit juice sector. Fruits produced in this area are hazelnut, peach, kiwi, apple, pear, walnut and cherry.

Other products produced in the province include wheat, corn (grain), rice, dry legumes, sugar beet, sunflower, soybean and tobacco.

 

In the recent years, with the lifting of some legal ban, hemp production in Turkey has came to the fore again.With the new legal regulations 19 provinces were designated for hemp production.Samsun is one of these provinces. The Vezirköprü district of Samsun is planned to be the start of hemp production like in the past.

Established in 2007, Samsun Food Specialized OIZ, is one of Turkey's first  specialized food OIZs.The establishment of a greenhouse OIZ in Bafra is continuing alongside the Food OIZ.


The Directorate of Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock General Directorate of Agricultural Researches and Policy (TAGEM) serves in the province. The OMU Agricultural Faculty in Samsun is one of the established and successful educational institutions of the country which has been serving since 1980.