This scene, captured by Istanbul photographer Hakan Yayla, took first prize in its category in the International Year of Family Farming photo competition, the results of which were announced recently.

The couple portrayed in the photograph earn their living mainly by cultivating fertile land alongside the ramparts of Istanbul’s historic peninsula. In the photo, which won first prize for Europe in the juried competition, they are shown harvesting purslane.

“Farming alongside the city ramparts stretches back for centuries,” said Yayla. “I decided to take this photo when I heard this tradition might vanish soon when the farmland is turned into a parking lot. Family farmers who live in cities struggle hard against unplanned urbanization while they have the capability of cultivating all sorts of crops on their small plots.”

Jointly organized by AgriCultures Network and the World Rural Forum, the “Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth” photo competition was an event connected with the United Nations International Year of Family Farming 2014.

Winners were announced during the Global Dialogue on Family Farming (Rome, 27-28 October 2014). More than 1,300 photographs were submitted from all continents and evaluated by an international jury of farming leaders and arts professionals.

13 November 2014, Ankara, Turkey