Not seeing the pit on the ground while looking for stars in the sky

The saying “Not seeing the pit on the ground while looking for stars in the sky” belongs to Ziya Paşa, a thinker, journalist, poet, and one of the most important statesmen of the Tanzimat era. The original saying is, “Yıldız arayıp gökte nice turfa müneccim. Gaflet ile görmez kuyuyu rehgüzerinde” (How many novice astrologers look for stars in the sky, yet in their heedlessness, they do not see the well in their path).

Turkey has numerous problems ranging from the economy to law, and from foreign policy to refugees. The “Survival Problem” means something different to everyone. In my opinion, at the forefront of our Survival Problem is “Agricultural Water Scarcity,” which directly affects “Food Sovereignty.” However, articles and news regarding agricultural water scarcity do not find enough space in our media. In other words, “We are not seeing the pit on the ground while looking for stars in the sky.”

If you wish, let us first take a look at our food sovereignty.

What is the state of our food sovereignty?

There was a time when we were self-sufficient in our basic food products in Turkey. For instance, in wheat, our most basic food item, there was a production of 20 million tons in the 80s when the population was 40 million. Currently, our official population is 85 million, but this report is incomplete. It is necessary to add the refugees to this number, whom some say are 5 million and others say 10 million; nearly 100 million people are looking for bread in Turkey. Production today is still around 20 million tons. In other words, wheat production per capita has not increased; it has decreased.

The situation is also dire for red meat. The number of animals per capita has not increased at all; it continues to decline. If we give a figure from 40 years ago, while there was one sheep per person, today there is one sheep for every three people.

The issue is directly linked to imperialism. Under the influence of imperialism, neoliberal policies were also implemented in agriculture in Turkey with the January 24 decisions in the 1980s. In addition to these, we have lost our food sovereignty due to agricultural water scarcity triggered by the climate crisis.

How does the issue of agricultural water affect food sovereignty?

Approximately 24 million hectares of Turkey's 78 million-hectare surface area is arable agricultural land. Within this area, the amount that can be economically irrigated is approximately 8.5 million hectares. However, a significant portion of our country has semi-arid climate characteristics. The precipitation regime shows regional differences according to climate characteristics and seasonal features. For this reason, areas with irrigation potential must be irrigated by taking technical and economic conditions into account. In this case, regulations that will ensure the most efficient use of water must be put into effect rapidly.

In Turkey, wrong product planting or changing the agricultural pattern without considering land structure and regional differences, and wrong agricultural practices such as excessive irrigation and stubble burning damage the structural and physical-chemical properties of the soil, making drought inevitable.

In this regard, I will give three current examples.

· Sinkholes are forming

When looking at the arid land structure of the Central Anatolia Region, correctly identifying the product to be planted is extremely important for the sustainability of agriculture. In this region, the insistence on planting products that require excessive water and are not suitable for this region, such as corn and alfalfa as well as sugar beets, due to the misdirection of animal husbandry, causes the amount of water in wells in arid regions to be depleted, and it is observed that 20-30 sinkholes form in the region every year. Sinkholes have emerged significantly not only in Central Anatolia but also in the Aegean Region, such as the Tire, Bayındır, and Ödemiş plains, and in the Inner Western Anatolia Region, such as Burdur and Isparta.

· Our rivers are drying up

For example, in Edirne, where hot weather has been above seasonal norms for some time, the flow rate of the Meriç River fell below the figures of the same month of the previous year as it did not receive precipitation in recent days, causing sandbars to form. While the producers in the Karaağaç neighborhood, who are engaged in agriculture in the region, suffer the greatest damage from the drought that has occurred, the water in the wells used for agricultural irrigation has reached the point of drying up.

· Water has run out in Çukurova.

According to the report by agricultural journalist Ali Ekber Yıldırım, water has run out in Çukurova, one of Turkey's most fertile plains. The Seyhan Left Bank Irrigation Union sent a letter to village headmen and relevant units, asking them not to plant autumn crops. It reported that even if they were planted, water could not be provided. A similar issue exists in the Söke plain.

What should be done?

The World Water Council (WWC), like other international organizations, has been turned into an organization that serves neoliberal policies.

In line with the decisions taken at the WWC, steps were taken in Turkey regarding the privatization of water. This process is continuing.

The Water Law turns all types of water into a commercial commodity.

For this reason, against the Water Law, agricultural cooperatives and environmental organizations, especially irrigation unions, chambers of agriculture, and chambers of agricultural engineers, should engage in activities to create public opinion.

With the momentum they create, political parties should take ownership of the issue.

Otherwise, we will face the unbearable difficulty of accessing food products along with the danger of desertification.

Will we keep shouting about migration, migration?

Will we have a place to go?