While everyone is asleep, they are hoeing under the scorching sun; are you aware?

Let's first look at a news item that appeared on the back pages of the newspapers. Perhaps it hasn't caught the attention of most of our people.

The news is as follows: ”Seasonal agricultural workers who came to the Yeşilhisar district of Kayseri from Urfa wake up at five o'clock every day to hoe crops such as sunflowers, beets, and pumpkins in the district. The workers, who start their day before sunrise, head for their tents in the evening after a grueling shift. One of the agricultural workers, Hatice Umdu, says, 'As seasonal workers, we work from five to nineteen. We come to the field in the morning while everyone is still asleep. Living in tents is difficult. We spend 7 out of the 12 months of the year here.'(*)

As an agriculturalist, I have witnessed the drama of many agricultural workers. However, one instance really hurt me. I had observed that workers drying tomatoes in the Kınık district of İzmir were working under very difficult conditions, and that the very small babies of the workers living in makeshift tents were playing under the scorching sun.

Who are the “Seasonal Agricultural Workers”?

Mobile seasonal workers, whose numbers are expressed in the millions every year, go to work in different regions of Turkey from spring to autumn, primarily from the Eastern and Southeastern regions, including provinces such as Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Batman, Mardin, and Şırnak.

The number of Syrian refugees going into seasonal agricultural work has also been quite high in recent years.

The work schedule of seasonal workers is determined according to the harvest time of the crops.

What is the Status of “Seasonal Agricultural Workers”?

The working conditions of seasonal agricultural workers were first regulated by Prime Ministry Circular No. 2010/6. Later, with the emergence of the Coronavirus, the services that could be performed in seasonal agricultural work were renewed in 2017 with the Prime Ministry's Circular No. 2017/6.

Is There a Solution for Seasonal Agricultural Workers?

For a solution, could the following be asked first?

• Will seasonal agricultural labor in Turkey continue forever? In other words, will the root cause that creates seasonal agricultural labor not be solved? Shouldn't we look at the issue from this perspective as well?

• Is the feudal structure and the problem of underdevelopment in the Eastern and Southeastern regions not at the root of seasonal agricultural labor? Is the problem not also being exploited by the separatist terrorist movement?

• Is unemployment not fueled by landlessness, insufficient land, and the lack of industry and service sectors in the region?

What is the Solution?

The first pillar of the solution is the realization of the “Social State Principle” in the region.

This has three interconnected stages. What are they?

• Implementing a permanent land reform,

• Making cooperative organization of farmers dominant alongside land reform,

• Establishing agro-industry under public guidance and sovereignty.

The second pillar is the strong revival of the national and secular education and the principle of unity in education, which was initiated with the Republic in Turkey, instead of the increasingly strengthening religious education.

In fact, don't the issues mentioned concern not only the East and Southeast, but all of Turkey?

(*)“While everyone is asleep, they are in the field”, Nefes Gazetesi, June 28, 2026, p.8

July 3, 2026