Farmers in Turkiye are in distress. Despite their hard work in planting and harvesting, they are not able to cover their costs. This issue spans across various crops, including tea, hazelnuts, wheat, and tomatoes. While global food inflation is generally decreasing, the gap is widening in Turkiye. Problems with production planning, cooperative management, and organizational structures are evident. The influence of political policies, devoid of scientific perspectives necessary for a productive and sustainable model, exacerbates the crisis. Economic challenges, rising production costs, and fluctuating prices are heavily impacting both farmers and consumers. Some producers, frustrated with low purchase prices, are leaving their crops unharvested. The result is a growing divide: empty grocery carts for consumers and increasing discontent among farmers.

Recently, pistachio producers from Nizip, Gaziantep, protested. They highlighted that the cost of pistachios has doubled from last year’s price of 100 TL, yet the buying price has only risen to 105 TL. They criticized being at the mercy of a few traders. In İzmir and Manisa, tomato producers had previously protested, and last week, the same issues emerged in Bursa. Farmers, driving their tractors through the streets, expressed their frustration over the drop in wholesale prices for paste tomatoes to 2 TL.

Import Dilemma

The issue extended to sunflower seeds last week. According to reports by Mustafa Çakır and Didem Ernez, the government plans to ease taxes on imports of sunflower seed and crude sunflower oil for companies purchasing from local producers between July 1 and November 30, 2024. Çakır’s report also indicated that the government's reliance on import-based agricultural policies is placing Trakya's sunflower producers under severe pressure. TÜİK data reveals that Turkiye’s self-sufficiency rate in sunflower production dropped from 84.8% in 2002 to 51.3% in 2022.

In our article by Eylül Barut, we drew attention to the increase in greenhouse use due to climate change. The article included opinions that working conditions are getting worse day by day. Şükrü Durmuş, President of the Agriculture-Forestry Labor Union, said: "They generally prefer foreigners, immigrants, and especially children. We have been unable to enter the greenhouses for inspection purposes". It was emphasized that there is a water problem in greenhouses as in agriculture in general.

A critical situation

The following findings of Baki Remzi Suiçmez, President of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, whose views were included in İklim Öngel's "Guest of the Week" page last week, were important: "Due to the agricultural policy implemented, farmers have started to quit production. The support is 91.6 billion TL, whereas it should be 411 billion TL."  Suiçmez said, "The real problem is that people cannot be fed. The last area to be saved is agriculture." His warning is alarming. Imports are a short-term and temporary solution in cases of necessity, Suiçmez said, adding, "The solution is in production."

The importance of food in terms of national security is obvious. There was an interesting article by Ali Haydar Nergis from Sweden on our newspaper's Sunday Writings page, which has become a tradition on this subject. It was stated that security concerns have increased in Northern European countries due to the Ukraine-Russia war. Although it may sound exaggerated at the moment, it was reported that emergency plans are being made in Sweden and Denmark in case the war could spread to them. An expert from the Swedish Civil Emergency Agency said that more than half of the food consumed in the country is imported from abroad and that in a possible crisis, people should learn to feed themselves from natural resources.

Urgent action needed

Once an agricultural country, the current situation is not pleasant. Unfortunately, a rent-centered approach that continues to build energy sites such as HEPPs and WPPs in areas where agricultural production will occur and in forests, and open areas where trees and water resources are located for construction cannot be prevented. An urgent action plan for a national agricultural policy, utilizing science and technology, needs to be put into action. Encouraging young people to reunite with the soil and production, and providing infrastructure for this, from education to economic and social perspective, is essential for safe sustainability.