Is there an alternative to the production impasse in agriculture?

First, let's make an assessment. There are two main factors triggering the production impasse in agriculture in Turkey. The first of these is internal factors, and the second is external factors.

In this article, we will mainly summarize the internal factors. However, the share of international agricultural and food imperialism, in other words, external factors, must also be taken into account. Moreover, due to the Iran-US War, it seems that the share of external factors will also increase in 2026 and the near future.

For example, the Hormuz Strait crisis in the Iran-US War will threaten global agriculture and affect Turkey through disruptions and price increases in oil, fertilizer, and logistics. In our country, which is also dependent on foreign sources for fertilizer, a negative decline in production will be inevitable for staple products such as wheat, rice, and corn. According to the FAO, if the crisis continues, global fertilizer prices will be on average 15-20 percent higher in the first half of 2026.

What is the Root Cause of the Decline in Agricultural Production in Terms of Internal Factors?

The root problem of Turkish agriculture is that the agricultural policies implemented do not favor small and medium-sized enterprises based on family labor, which make up the vast majority of agricultural businesses.

Policies are built on the corporatization of agriculture.

There is no way out unless agricultural policies are regulated for small and medium-sized enterprises based on family labor, which constitute the vast majority of agricultural businesses.

The Landscape of the Production Impasse in Agriculture

• According to the Agriculture Law, 772 billion in support, which is 1 percent of the national income, should have been given to farmers in 2026, whereas the money allocated from the treasury for this year was 168 billion.

• The number of people working in agriculture was 4 million 948 thousand in 2024, but it fell to 4 million 560 thousand in 2025; in other words, 388 thousand farmers have disconnected from agricultural production. Moreover, the average age of farmers has aged instead of getting younger, reaching 59.

• The farmer's debt has increased 187-fold compared to the beginning of the 2000s.

• Agricultural production shrank by 8.8 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year. As a result, the farmer withdrew from agriculture because they could not earn money.

• Because agricultural production fell, Turkey became an importer of agricultural products. Imports of agricultural products were 344.2 billion dollars in 2024, while exports were 261.9 billion dollars. Moreover, consumers have reached a point where they cannot access agricultural products due to rising prices.

Is There an Alternative to the Production Impasse in Agriculture?

• The first thing that needs to be done is to provide support equal to the difference between the market price and the producer's costs. However, tying the solution solely to support is not a solution. The more support increases, the more marketers and industrialists in the marketing channel lower prices.

Since these supports are deducted when determining the price, it does not reflect much on the producer. Moreover, according to the Agriculture Law, the support given to the farmer has not even been one-third of the 1 percent amount committed, as mentioned above. The state is in debt to the farmer.

In the agricultural sector, a market is dominant in the evaluation of agricultural outputs (milk, meat, vegetables, etc.) where a small number of organized or large buyers face a large number of small producers.

In this structure, called an oligopsony market, buyers have market power and directly influence prices.

This is usually seen in sectors such as agricultural products or raw materials. Instead of intense competition among buyers, there is cooperation or strategic behavior. In short, there is an order where producers have difficulty marketing their products and are forced to sell them cheaply, while buyers dominate the market.

• The fundamental solution against the oligopsony market order is for producers to industrialize by forming cooperatives.

In other words, small farmers should establish their own industrial institutions and present their products to the market themselves.

However, until agricultural cooperatives are strengthened, AGRICULTURAL STATE ECONOMIC ENTERPRISES (KİTs) must be re-established. This issue is almost never brought to the agenda in Turkish public opinion. Even those who criticize existing policies do not mention public-oriented policies. It is as if everyone is a free-market advocate.

• Agricultural cooperatives to be established by small and medium-sized enterprises based on family labor should be given the right to issue Farmer Registration Certificates for income, VAT on the products they market should be reduced to 1 percent, and corporate tax exemption should be provided to unit cooperatives with umbrella unions for at least 10 years.

• A single ministry should be responsible for agricultural cooperative organization, and there should not be product-based agricultural cooperativization.

• A Cooperatives Bank should be established to provide finance to cooperatives.

• Agricultural cooperatives should be organized on a district or large town/village basis.

• Based on family farming, producers should become industrialists and marketers again through cooperatives. Only with this model can a large part of the created surplus value remain with the farmer, and consumers can access agricultural products more cheaply.

• According to a study, the share of logistics services in food rises to as much as 18 percent in some cases. For example, large factories established in Istanbul or Izmir buy their milk from cities thousands of kilometers away. This also applies to fruits and vegetables. The solution to reduce logistics services is to create agricultural zones on the periphery of large consumption centers.

• Agricultural production planning should be carried out to make good use of resources and prevent waste, taking into account the priority of societal needs, soil, and climate conditions, without engaging in stock production.

Now, there is a question that those reading this article should ask.

Can all these proposals be put into practice?

The answer is yes. The solution is possible with a political will to be created by these proposals coming from the grassroots and the government of this political will. Such a transformation can be realized even in a single legislative term. However, as I mentioned above, in addition to internal factors, creating political conditions against international agricultural and food imperialism is one of our fundamental issues.

It is necessary not to forget the statement attributed to Henry Kissinger, an enemy of the world's nations: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people."

Doesn't this statement show that agriculture and food have been used as a geopolitical weapon and a tool of control for imperial strategy since the 20th century?(*)

(*)See: Kaymakçı, Mustafa (Ed.), Hunger and Imperialism. İlkim Ozan Publications, Antalya