#hazelnut farming

Turkish hazelnut producers, who account for 70% of the world's hazelnut production, are denouncing the poor working conditions of Italy's Ferrero.

Kneeling from dawn till dusk, the Turkish farmers picking most of the hazelnuts going into Nutella spreads complain of exploitation and meagre pay, setting up a clash over labour rights.

They are paid $14 (€12) a day for 12 hours of work, which is less than the minimum wage that Turkey requires for a 45-hour week.

The little heart-shaped nuts making Nutella such a guilty pleasure are a cherished commodity in Turkey, which accounts for 82% of global exports.

But this love is not shared by Bahri Koyu, a 48-year-old seasonal worker from Turkey.

"The owners and producers pay us insufficient wages because the price we get for a kilo of hazelnuts is low. This price benefits neither us nor the producers. The only ones who benefit are the big companies," Koyu said.

The world-famous spread is made by Italy's Ferrero confectionery, Turkey's top hazelnut purchaser, who also produces Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Kinder chocolate eggs.

As the early morning mist clears to reveal the turrets of San Quirico Castle in central Italy, the greenery surrounding local farmhouses comes alive with sound: Red-bellied woodpeckers chirp and bright-green tree frogs call to each other among the cypress and beech trees.

But walk a little further towards the fields of young hazelnut plantations and there is suddenly silence: the birds and insects have been driven away by the monoculture. Seemingly never-ending lines of saplings are now the defining feature of Alfina plateau which lies a few hundred meters above sea level. Until recently, much of this area was composed of wildflower fields and a patchwork of different crops.

"Six or seven years ago this place looked completely different," Gabriele Antoniella said. He works as a researcher and activist with Comitato Quattro Strade, a conservation organization in Alfina. Antoniella estimates there are around 300 hectares (741 acres) of new plantations in the area, mostly owned by a few large investors.

The plateau sits in the northern section of Tuscia, a historical region in Viterbo province and the heart of Italy's hazelnut production. Around 43% of the agricultural land in Viterbo is reserved for hazelnut orchards, the bulk of which goes to the confectionery industry for use in products such as nougat and chocolate.