Earthquake hit cotton, corn and wheat

Türkiye While you wake up each day to the news of a new increase in food and livestock products, the proximity of the harvest season in 11 earthquake-hit provinces is alarming. Pointing out that damage to the irrigation canal, warehouse, and machinery equipment in particular create great difficulties for the region’s summer season harvest, industry representatives noted that farmers may experience great damage to wheat, corn, and cotton. The president of the Antakya Chamber of Agriculture, Mehmet Muzaffer Okay, said that the purchasing power of the producer has completely disappeared and the irrigation and storage damage affected the farmer.

IF TMO DOES NOT BUY, FARMERS MUST

Pointing out that there will be big problems in the wheat, corn and cotton crop, which is currently being grown, Okay summed up the situation as follows: “Storage areas were damaged. There are about 60 farmer factories here and 50 of them are damaged. Problems arise when buyers do not come to the market. In the latest news we received, we learned that the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) will not open any more silos than the branch in Antakya. If TMO does not take the buyer position and cannot sell products, there will be storage problems, either on farms or in flour factories. Inevitably, there will be no demand in the market and the supply will be high. This will be reflected directly in the prices. This is a situation that scares us farmers. While we still have time, we want the authorities to take action against this. The wheat will be harvested in a month, but we cannot get a price for the wheat.” Noting that there were landslides on the Asi river after the earthquake and that dams were damaged, Okay said there is no guarantee of irrigation and called not to plant a second crop. Agreed, “This year, we will experience a period of single planting of a single crop. They have already sent the message not to plant second crops on the dam sites,” he said. “The water withdrawn from the deep wells is reflected to the farmer as the electricity bill, and the water withdrawn from the dam is the cost of irrigation. Here is the request of our Hatayli from the state: The state subsidizes part of the electricity in the southeast. It is called the development zone. Saying that we should be given this opportunity, at least until the earthquake problem is alleviated for 3-5 years, Okay said bills should be deducted.

1/3 of TL 61.3 billion revenue is damaged

According to the report of the Department of Strategy and Budget of the Presidency, as of 2021, the contribution of the earthquake area to the GDP was 713.9 billion TL, while 61.3 billion TL, corresponding to 8 .6 percent of this amount were obtained from the agricultural sector. Although 15.3 percent of the country’s agricultural production was produced in the earthquake-affected provinces, the share of agriculture in the economy of the provinces, except Gaziantep, is above the country’s average. Again, according to the report, the total damage to the region’s agricultural sector was estimated at the level of TL 24.2 billion (USD 1.3 billion) according to the first determinations.

Producer withdraws after selection

Stating that 70 percent of the region’s farmers owe money to public banks, the president of the Chamber of Agronomists, Baki Remzi Suiçmez, stated that there is a need for restructuring, saying: “Agriculture and the region they must receive new support beyond the elections. After the elections, it will definitely be late. Elections should not be expected. If it is not supported in a concrete way beyond the electoral promise, the producer will withdraw from the field, ”he said.