The dream of producing wheat in Venezuela also falls flat

Venezuela was one of the countries where Turkey wanted to engage in agricultural production abroad. In recent years, as Turkey and Venezuela have experienced unprecedentedly close relations, there was a desire to extend this closeness to the field of agriculture.

Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to the country in 2018, health aid provided during the pandemic, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's visit to Turkey in June 2022, numerous agreements were signed. The idea of agricultural production in Venezuela was also brought up during these meetings. Previously, the import of cheese from this country had been discussed, but it was discovered that there was no cheese to be imported.

The then-Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci, went to Venezuela for an official visit in July 2022. Wheat production was never mentioned during this trip. Instead of wheat, it was stated that investments could be made in the production of feed raw materials, primarily soy. Kirişci, who was also received by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, stated that after the will put forward by President Erdoğan and President Maduro was supported by the ministers, the involvement of the private sector was of vital importance for the future of relations between the two countries. He said they would give very good news. However, before this news could be delivered, the dream of agricultural production in Venezuela also came to an end.

Economist and Finance Expert Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül made the following assessments regarding the subject:

Seeking a solution for Turkish agriculture in Venezuela was a betrayal of our country, and especially of the Turkish farmer, who is the master and father of this nation, and of our agriculture. In 2002, agricultural land was 41 million hectares; it is currently 35 million hectares.

While Turkey had an export surplus in 2002, it has become a country that imports every product today, and this country, which is a livestock and agricultural nation, is now even importing wheat and even hazelnuts. We are facing a country that has reached the point of importing rice, wheat, sunflower seeds, and interestingly, even tangerines and oranges, and I don't even need to mention the straw that is talked about so often. One of the most fundamental problems here is where Turkish agriculture has come from and where it has arrived. Turkish agriculture has been deliberately bankrupted. The biggest reason for its bankruptcy is a political choice. Despite Turkey being an agricultural country, it has been made dependent on the outside in agriculture, as in every other matter. The most fundamental question here is this: if we look at Turkey's agricultural land, the agricultural land in Turkey was approximately 41 million hectares in 2002, and it has now fallen to 35 million hectares. It is a fact that approximately 6 million hectares of land out of 41 million hectares are no longer cultivated and have been taken out of agricultural use. In fact, the most fundamental problem here is that in 20 years, agricultural land seven times the size of the Netherlands has been destroyed by the political power. It was taken out of agricultural use and the majority of it, or a part of it, was privatized.

We already saw the price we paid as a result of the destruction of land opened for housing in the earthquake that occurred a year ago. In fact, the fundamental problem is this: the political power wants to colonize agriculture by making it dependent on the outside.

We have become a country that can no longer make independent decisions, and as you know today, sugar factories have been closed and privatized. This was also a conscious choice. The most fundamental point to be noted here is this: Turkish agriculture must immediately return to the agricultural policies of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In just 15 years, Atatürk had made Turkey an exemplary country that established industrial facilities by exporting agricultural products to the world and a country that competed with the world in agriculture. Unfortunately, especially the 1950 Democrat Party government, then the September 12 fascist dictatorship, and later the Motherland Party that came to power in 1983, and the AKP that came to power in 2002, deliberately made Turkish agriculture dependent on the outside and removed our country from being an agricultural country.

The political power prefers leasing over production. State hospitals are rented, vehicles are rented, roads are rented, bridges are rented, seas are rented, coasts are rented, beaches are rented, public lands are rented, buildings used by the public are rented; the basic logic of this is: wherever there is leasing, there is rent-seeking and there is political power.

Economist and Finance Expert Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül criticized this situation on his own social media.

Bülbül's words are as follows:

The Venezuela adventure of the government, which sought a solution for Turkish agriculture in Venezuela, ended in frustration after 15 months. How much was spent for the company established in Venezuela? Who is responsible for this public loss? In accordance with the "Fiscal Transparency" article of the Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018, the public must be held accountable.

The Venezuela adventure of the government, which sought a solution for Turkish agriculture in Venezuela, ended in frustration after 15 months. How much was spent for the company established in Venezuela? Who is responsible for this public loss? In accordance with the "Fiscal Transparency" article of the Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018, the public must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/wQWf4vrphm

— Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül (@DuranBulbulTR) December 15, 2023

News Source: 12punto