I am the Atatürk Forest Farm: I am 100 years old

The Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ) is 100 years old.

The AOÇ is a testament to the agricultural practices of the Atatürk era.

For this reason, before touching upon the findings and events related to the AOÇ, it is useful to briefly recall and bring to the agenda Atatürk's agricultural practices and actions.

These can be grouped under the headings: "Distribution of Land to Peasants or Land Reform, Organization and Cooperativization of Farmers, Agricultural Education Studies, Agricultural R&D, Agricultural Supports, and Atatürk as an Agriculturist."

Distribution of Land to Peasants or Land Reform

Atatürk knew that in order to improve the lives of the peasants, who made up the vast majority of the nation, they needed to become landowners. To this end, he constantly brought this issue to the agenda in his opening speeches to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) from 1928 to 1937.

The last one is as follows:

“Once and for all, there should be no landless farmers left in the country. More importantly, it is necessary to classify the land that can support a farmer's family as an indivisible asset under no circumstances, and to classify the size of land that large farmers and farm owners can operate according to the population density and soil fertility of the region where the land is located (November 1, 1937, TBMM Opening Speech).

Under Atatürk's guidance, some laws aimed at making peasants landowners were passed during the founding years. In this context, it is known that land was distributed to a segment of landless and small-landholding peasants. After Atatürk's death, with the added negative effects of World War II, the issue of providing land to farmers remained almost suspended until 1945. In 1945, in line with Atatürk's speeches, Law No. 4753 on Providing Land to Farmers was passed. The law included the transfer of large landowners' lands to public ownership, the distribution of a portion of these to landless and small-landholding peasants, and radical changes in rural areas. However, this law could not be implemented. Large landowners, feudal lords, tribal leaders, and sheikhs who dominated politics and the economy prevented the law from being put into practice.

Organization and Cooperativization of Farmers

Atatürk also led the Turkish cooperative movement from 1920 until his death. In this context, it is known that he made speeches, especially on the cooperativization of farmers, and played a dominant role in the enactment of laws.

Let us give examples from two of his statements:

“The cooperative organization has been loved everywhere. We find it possible to utilize cooperatives not only for credit and sales but also for teaching and using the means of production.” (November 1, 1936, TBMM Opening Speech).

“Using common threshing machines in the village and nearby villages should become an inseparable habit of the peasants. ....Agricultural industry will be the subject we will especially work on. In the meantime, we attach importance to dairy farming and the dairy industry. In turn; efforts will be made to establish factories that will meet the need for clean and cheap dairy products in our cities and towns, and in harmony with this, to form cooperatives that will add value to the milk in the villages and facilitate its sale” (November 1, 1937, TBMM Opening Speech).

Agricultural Education Studies

In 1927, the "Law on the Establishment of Agricultural and Veterinary Institutes and Higher Schools and the Improvement of Agricultural Education" was enacted. In line with the implementation of the law, the Ankara Agricultural School was opened in 1930. This school was later converted into the Higher Institute of Agriculture in 1933. As is known, this institute formed the founding faculties of Ankara University in 1948.

Apart from higher agricultural education, many schools were opened at the secondary education level during the Atatürk era. Among these, silkworm schools in Antalya, Diyarbakır, and Erzincan, and multi-purpose agricultural schools opened in İzmir, Erzincan, Kastamonu, Konya, Çorum, Sivas, Erzurum, Edirne, and Kepsut can be counted.

Agricultural Research and Development

While secondary and higher-level schools were being opened for agricultural education during the founding years of the Republic, improvement and trial stations were established in the first stage to meet the agricultural inputs such as seeds, seedlings, saplings, and breeding stock needed by farmers.

With Law No. 1340 enacted in 1924, nurseries were opened in Rize and Borçka for hazelnut, orange, lemon, and tea cultivation. A citrus nursery was established in Tarsus, mulberry nurseries for sericulture in Bursa and Erzincan, a pistachio nursery in Gaziantep, and vine nurseries in Bilecik, Kırklareli, Manisa, Tekirdağ, and Ankara. The Erenköy vine nursery was improved.

Potato stations were opened in Eskişehir and Halkalı, corn in Adapazarı, cotton in Adana and later in Nazilli, and dry farming stations in Eskişehir. Stud farms and dairy farms were also established in the early years of the Republic to meet the demand for breeding stock.

Agricultural Supports

In the trial and improvement stations, dairy farms, and stud farms established in the early years of the Republic, adaptation studies of genetic material brought from abroad were carried out on the one hand, and agricultural inputs such as saplings, seeds, and breeding stock were distributed free of charge as much as possible. Law No. 1641 was enacted to meet the qualified seed needs of farmers from foreign countries, and customs duties on seed imports were abolished.

In the context of agricultural support, one of the most important issues realized in the early years of the Republic was the abolition of the tithe (aşar) tax in 1925.

The founding cadre of the Republic also effectively activated the Agricultural Bank (Ziraat Bankası) and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives. For example, while the amount of debt given to farmers in the 32 years between 1888 and 1920 was 22 million, this amount was increased to 121 million between 1923 and 1933.

Reflections of Atatürk's Agricultural Policies on Production

It is known that the annual growth rate of agricultural production between 1923 and 1929 during the Atatürk era reached 8.9 percent, exceeding the national income growth rate (8.6 percent).

Between 1930 and 1939, despite the negativity of the Great Depression experienced by global capitalism, the agricultural sector continued its growth. During this period, the annual growth rate in agriculture was 5.1 percent.

The reflection of the observed growth rates on wheat and cotton production and the number of animals is as follows; while the average wheat production in 1923-1925 was 972,000 tons, it rose to 3,636,000 tons in 1936-1940. According to these data, the increase in wheat production was 274 percent. During the same dates, cotton production also increased from 44,000 tons to 64,000 tons, and the increase rate was at the level of 45 percent. The number of sheep, which was 15 million in 1923, reached 23 million, and the number of cattle, which was 4 million, reached 9 million.

Among the factors in these positive developments in agriculture, one can list the creation of resources in favor of farmers through price and tax variables of positive policies towards agriculture, the trial and research stations created, and the peaceful environment that allowed the male population of Anatolia to return to the land.

And the Atatürk Forest Farm

Atatürk was also the founder of many farms. The most prominent of these is the AOÇ in Ankara. The AOÇ is a beautiful farm that still maintains its existence today with its greenery, gardens, zoo, and agricultural industrial facilities. The founder of this farm is Atatürk.

How was this farm established in Central Anatolia, which had a semi-desert appearance due to insufficient annual rainfall?

It is known that a report was presented to Atatürk stating, “This land is barren, a good farm cannot be established.” However, he knew that even under the most difficult conditions, nature could be transformed for the better under the guidance of science.

For this reason, he showed a firm and decisive attitude and stated that the farm should be established, saying, “If we cannot make these waterless and barren lands work, who will come and help us? More importantly, anyone can establish a farm on lands with a suitable climate, beautiful soil, and abundant water. Our duty is to show what the Anatolian soil can provide even under the worst conditions. Our success here will be an example to all of Anatolia.”

Upon this decision, the necessary scientific analyses were made, and the foundation of the farm was laid on May 5, 1925.

Protecting the Atatürk Forest Farm

Baki Remzi Suiçmez, President of the TMMOB Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, mentioned that the total size of the AOÇ was 154 thousand 729 decares, that according to the 1989 report of the State Audit Board, the AOÇ land had decreased to around 33 thousand decares, and that this figure had fallen even further in the 2000s, with approximately 70 percent being lost. And he stated that the “AOÇ” is not only an agricultural heritage but also a concrete product of the Republic's ideals of modernization and development.

The Ankara City Council has organized a “Future Scenarios Workshop for the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ) on the 100th Anniversary of its Establishment” due to the 100th anniversary of the Atatürk Forest Farm. In the workshop, which will take place on May 3-5, 2025, the past, present, and future of the AOÇ have been discussed, and workshops for students and professionals have been organized.

I am the Atatürk Forest Farm: I am 100 Years Old

Tezcan Karakuş Candan, former President of the Chamber of Architects Ankara Branch, has also produced a documentary titled "I am the Atatürk Forest Farm: I am 100 Years Old" on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the AOÇ.

In the documentary, the purpose of the establishment of the AOÇ, the changes it has undergone, the destructions it has faced such as the fragmentation of its lands, leasing, transfer of its lands, cutting down of its trees, and demolition of its buildings, and what its function for the future should be, are conveyed as if from the farm's own mouth.

The AOÇ, as mentioned, is the concrete indicator of Atatürk's saying: “In the world, for everything, for civilization, for life, for success, the truest guide is science and knowledge. Seeking a guide other than science and knowledge is negligence, ignorance, and straying from the right path. It is essential to understand the development of the phases of science and knowledge in every minute we live and to follow the advancements in time.” In other words, protecting the AOÇ is equivalent to protecting the Republic of Turkey, which was founded with science as its only guide.

I agree with Suiçmez's findings. I congratulate the Ankara City Council for organizing the workshop and Tezcan Karakuş Candan for her efforts in the documentary.