Agriculture in Turkey – Wikipedia

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Overview of agriculture in the Republic of Turkey

Agriculture in Turkey is an important part of the economy, and is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Half of the land is agricultural,[3] employing 18% of the workforce, and providing 10% of exports, and 7% of GDP in 2020.[4] There are half a million[5][6] farmers. Turkey is a major producer of wheat, sugar beets, milk, poultry, cotton, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables.[3]

As of 2022, Turkey is the world’s largest producer of hazelnuts and apricots.[3] In 2021, Turkey received 65 percent of all imported wheat from Russia and more than 13 percent from Ukraine.[7]

Turkish agriculture emits greenhouse gases. According to the World Bank the sector should adapt more to climate change in Turkey and make technical improvements.[5] 14% of food was lost during agricultural processing in 2016, and 23% was trashed by consumers before eating and 5% as leftovers.[8]

The livestock industry, compared to the initial years of the Republic, showed little improvement in productivity, and the later years of the decade saw stagnation. However, livestock products, including meat, milk, wool, and eggs, contributed to more than 1⁄3 of the value of agricultural output.[9] Almost all the seeds used in Turkey are produced domestically.[10]

Turkey is the EU’s fourth largest non-EU vegetable supplier and the seventh largest fruit supplier. The European Commission had already started the formal process for extending the Customs Union Agreement to agricultural products,[11][12] before European Union–Turkey relations deteriorated and efforts to extend and modernize the Customs Union Agreement came to a halt in 2018.[13][14][15]

History[edit]

Ancient water distribution channel in Amasya

The Atatürk Dam is the largest of the 22 dams in the Southeastern Anatolia Project. The program includes 22 dams, 19 hydraulic power plants, and the irrigation of 1.82 million hectares of land. The total cost of the project is estimated at $32 billion.

Historically, Turkey’s farmers have been fairly fragmented.[16] The government initiated many projects, such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project.[17]

Cereals[edit]

In 2021 the country was almost self-sufficient in cereals.[18]

Fruit and veg[edit]

Greenhouses have a competitive advantage over EU ones due to lower costs, and tropical fruit can be grown.[19]

Avocado cultivation in Turkey has shown significant improvement in recent years.[20] In addition, banana cultivation in the Mediterranean region of Turkey has an important potential.[21]

Grapes[edit]

Turkey is the world’s fourth largest producer of grapes for wine production, with over 8,120 square kilometres (2,010,000 acres) of vineyards. Turkey’s total grape production was 4,264,720 tonnes in 2009, 4,255,000 tonnes in 2010, 4,296,351 tonnes in 2011, and 4,275,659 tonnes in 2012, ranking sixth in the world in all four years, according to FAO data.[22][page needed]

Olives[edit]

There are almost 200 million trees[23] and Turkey produces about 200 thousand tonnes of olive oil a year.[24]Edremit (Ayvalık) is the main variety in northern Turkey and Memecik in the south. Gemlik is a black table olive and many other varieties are grown.[25]

Livestock[edit]

The main forage crops are alfalfa, silage corn, oats, vetch, and sainfoin.[26] Native cattle breeds such as Anatolian Black cattle are low yielding but hardy.[27]

Fish farms[edit]

Aquaculture, which started in the 1970s, has been supported by the government since 2003. Sea bass and sea bream are farmed, and mostly trout in inland waters.[28] Aquaculture overtook fishing in 2020, with Muğla, İzmir and Elazığ being the top provinces. In 2021 US$1.2 billion worth of farmed fish were exported.[29]

Farmers[edit]

As of 2022 agricultural statistics need improvement according to the EU.[30] Although there are over 2 million people on the Agriculture Ministry’s Farmer Registration System,[31] only half a million are known to the Social Security Institution.[32] Many farms are small[33] and family farms are common, with many women working informally.[34] It has been claimed that with the influx of Syrian refugees seasonal agricultural work became more precarious, especially for women and children.[35][36]Kurdish seasonal workers are also poor.[37] The ILO is helping to stop child labour.[38] The FAO has various projects.[39]

Research and environment[edit]

Seeds and bulbs are stored long term.[40] The World Bank has a project.[41] In the first 2 decades of the 21st century farming is thought not to have been sustainable.[42]

Agrivoltaics generally gives higher crop yields in water-stressed sunny regions.[43]

Trade and economics[edit]

In 2020 the country receiving the most exports was Iraq[44] and that sending the most food to Turkey was Russia.[45] The EU intends to support rural development with €430 million during 2021-2027.[46]Total Factor Productivity is estimated to have decreased by 2% annually on average from 2005 to 2016.[47]

Gübretaş and Hektaş are large fertiliser companies.

Irrigation[edit]

Sometimes solar power is used to pump water to combat drought.[48]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Turkey world’s largest hazelnut, cherry, fig, apricot, quince, poppy producer”. www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  2. ^ “Top countries for Hazelnuts Production – Source FAO”. NationMaster. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  3. ^ a b c “Turkey – Country Commercial Guide”. International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. 2022-07-26.
  4. ^ “World Bank Provides $341 Million Boost to Advance Green and Competitive Growth of Turkey’s Agricultural Sector”. World Bank. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  5. ^ a b “Turkey’s farmers battle with soaring costs and mounting debt”. Financial Times. 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  6. ^ “Number of farmers in Turkey plummets below half a million”. Duvar (in Turkish). 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  7. ^ Gostev, Aleksandr; Liklikadze, Koba (30 April 2022). “Analysis: Erdogan Hoping Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Can Bolster Turkish Regional Power”. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  8. ^ “One-fourth of wasted food could feed 870M people: expert”.
  9. ^ Fisheries and Aquaculture 2005 statistics.
  10. ^ Gazete, Banka (21 November 2021). “Bakan Pakdemirli: ‘Ülkemizde kullanılan tohumlukların yüzde 96’sı yurt içinde üretilmektedir’“. Gazetebanka.com. p. https://gazetebanka.com/. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. ^ “EU imported 21% more fruit and veg from Turkey”. www.freshplaza.com.
  12. ^ “The fruit and vegetable sector in the EU – a statistical overview/ – Statistics Explained”. ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  13. ^ “EU Council issues strong message about Turkey’s obligations”. Cyprus Mail. 26 June 2018.
  14. ^ “EU will Zollunion mit der Türkei nicht ausbauen”. Die Zeit (in German). 27 June 2018.
  15. ^ “ENLARGEMENT AND STABILISATION AND ASSOCIATION PROCESS Council conclusions” (PDF). Council of the European Union. 26 June 2018.
  16. ^ Ray, I., Gul, S. (2000). More from less: policy options and farmer choice under and Drainage Systems Archived 2008-02-16 at the Wayback Machine 13:363-383.
  17. ^ “Southeastern Anatolia Project: What is G.A.P.?”. gap.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  18. ^ “Amid high bread prices, TurkStat says Turkey self-sufficient in agriculture, wheat production”. Bianet.
  19. ^ “Troubles in Europe offer opportunities for Turkish agriculture sector”. Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  20. ^ Gazete, Banka (15 November 2021). “Korona virüs avokado üretimini arttırdı, üretici talebe yetişemiyor”. Gazetebanka Haber. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. ^ Gazete, Banka (15 November 2021). “Muzda 6 çeşit tescillenecek”. Gazetebanka. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  22. ^ “FAOSTAT”.
  23. ^ “A Predicted Record Harvest Would Make Turkey the World’s Second-Largest Olive Oil Producer”. Olive Oil Times. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  24. ^ “THE WORLD OF OLIVE OIL”. International Olive Council. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  25. ^ “The Turkish olive oil sector”. www.olioofficina.net. (2016)- Retrieved 2018-07-11
  26. ^ Tan, Mustafa; Yolcu, Halil (2021-06-04). “Current Status of Forage Crops Cultivation and Strategies for the Future in Turkey: A Review”. Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 27 (2): 114–121. doi:10.15832/ankutbd.903732.
  27. ^ “Genetic diversity and population structure of four cattle breeds raised in Turkey using microsatellite markers”. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020.
  28. ^ “Su Ürünleri Özel İhtisas Komisyonu raporu” (PDF). kalkinma.gov.tr. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  29. ^ “Agricultural Products Market: Aquaculture” (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  30. ^ “Türkiye 2022 Report”. EU Delegation to Türkiye. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  31. ^ “Çiftçi sayısı en fazla il: Ordu”. www.trthaber.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  32. ^ “Türkiye’de çiftçi sayısı son 5 yılda yüzde 28 azaldı”. euronews (in Turkish). 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  33. ^ Türker, Metin (2022). “A research on agricultural land market in Turkey”. Ciência Rural. 52 (12). doi:10.1590/0103-8478cr20210491. ISSN 0103-8478.
  34. ^ “Is the Globalization of Agriculture changing the role of Women? Cases of Turkey and Spain” (PDF).
  35. ^ bloomsbury.com. “Syrian Refugees and Agriculture in Turkey”. Bloomsbury. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  36. ^ Aksu, Ege; Erzan, Refik; Kırdar, Murat Güray (2022-06-01). “The impact of mass migration of Syrians on the Turkish labor market”. Labour Economics. 76: 102183. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102183. ISSN 0927-5371. S2CID 159259610.
  37. ^ Pelek, Deniz (2022-01-02). “Ethnic residential segregation among seasonal migrant workers: from temporary tents to new rural ghettos in southern Turkey”. The Journal of Peasant Studies. 49 (1): 54–77. doi:10.1080/03066150.2020.1767077. ISSN 0306-6150. S2CID 225580327.
  38. ^ “Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Seasonal Agriculture in Hazelnut Harvesting in Turkey – Annual Bulletin 2022”. www.ilo.org. 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  39. ^ “FAO in Türkiye”. www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  40. ^ “Digital database established for endemic plant species”.
  41. ^ “Turkey Climate Smart and Competitive Agricultural Growth Project”.
  42. ^ Yeni, Onur; Teoman, Özgür (April 2022). “The Agriculture–Environment Relationship and Environment-based Agricultural Support Instruments in Turkey”. European Review. 30 (2): 194–218. doi:10.1017/S1062798720001015. ISSN 1062-7987. S2CID 225722222.
  43. ^ https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2301355120
  44. ^ “Turkey Food Products Exports by country & region 2020”. wits.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  45. ^ “Turkey Food Products Imports by country 2020 | WITS Data”. wits.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  46. ^ “EU and Türkiye hold first high-level dialogue on agriculture”. EU Delegation to Türkiye. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  47. ^ Şişman, Zeynep; Tekiner-Mogulkoc, Hatice (2022-10-09). “Using malmquist TFP index for evaluating agricultural productivity: Agriculture of Türkiye NUTS2 regions”. Sigma Journal of Engineering and Natural Sciences. 40 (3): 513–528. ISSN 1304-7191.
  48. ^ Brown, Hannah (2023-01-05). “How this Turkish city is transforming its energy supply”. euronews. Retrieved 2023-01-22.

External links[edit]

“Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry”. journals.tubitak.gov.tr. TÜBİTAK. Retrieved 2023-02-27.