Agricultural lands left uncultivated for two consecutive years will be leased out

The Regulation on Leasing Uncultivated Agricultural Lands for Agricultural Purposes, prepared by the Ministry, has been published in the Official Gazette and has entered into force.

The regulation covers the procedures and transactions regarding the leasing of agricultural lands owned by individuals and legal entities that have not been cultivated for two consecutive years, to be leased out by the Ministry for seasonal agricultural use.

Agricultural lands that have not been cultivated for two consecutive years will be leased out by the Ministry on a seasonal basis, provided that the nature of the land is not altered and it is used for agricultural production by the lessee.

A Land Identification Commission will be established within the provincial or district directorates to identify the lands to be leased. The Land Identification Commission will convene under the chairmanship of the deputy provincial director or branch manager at the provincial directorate, and the district director at the district directorate. The commission will consist of a total of five principal and two alternate members, including the chairperson.

IDENTIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS TO BE LEASED

The Land Identification Commission will identify uncultivated agricultural lands through studies based on cadastral parcel data, satellite imagery, geographic information systems, data obtained from other public institutions, and on-site land inspections. Data that can serve as a basis for identification efforts will be provided by the Ministry.

In the identification of uncultivated agricultural lands, the period from September 1 of the current year to August 31 of the following year, taking into account the harvest period which varies by region, will be considered.

Following the completion of the control process carried out by the Land Identification Commission, parcels that provide economic integrity and parcels that fall outside the scope of economic integrity but are evaluated by the Land Identification Commission as suitable for economic agricultural production will be identified.

Perennial and greenhouse agricultural lands will not be included in the scope of leasing operations. Lands where the land class, parcel size, and productivity status are not economical for agricultural production may be excluded from that year's leasing operations by documenting this status. 

In cases where uncultivated land is identified on a portion of a parcel, these parts may be evaluated within the scope of uncultivated agricultural land.

The rental fee cannot be lower than the market rental value appraised by the Commission. The Commission will announce the finalized list of agricultural lands to be leased electronically and on the provincial directorate's website for a period of seven days.

Those who wish to lease the announced agricultural lands must fill out the agricultural land lease application form completely and apply to the provincial directorate within the announcement period. Leasing applications can also be made through the Agricultural Land Valuation and Acquisition Information System. 

LEASING WILL BE PRIORITIZED FOR THOSE RESIDING IN THE SETTLEMENTS WHERE THE LAND IS LOCATED

Leasing will be prioritized for those residing in the settlement where the agricultural land to be leased is located, as well as for non-governmental organizations and professional chambers. If there is more than one applicant from the priority groups, the lease will be granted to the one who offers the highest bid; if there are no applicants from the priority groups, it will be granted to the highest bidder among other applicants.

The agricultural land to be leased will be delivered to the lessee with a land delivery report within fifteen days from the date of the contract.

Leased agricultural lands will be registered in the recording systems determined by the Ministry, and lessees will be able to benefit from agricultural subsidies related to these lands.

The rental fee will be paid to the landowner. In cases where the landowners or rights holders cannot be reached, the rental fees will be accrued in a three-month term account to be opened at a public bank determined by the Ministry, specifically for the land. In cases of disputed ownership of agricultural land, once the dispute is resolved, the accumulated rental income and its accessories will be distributed to the rights holders in proportion to their shares.

If the lessee uses the leased agricultural land in violation of the Regulation and the lease agreement, they will not be able to submit bids for leases to be made under this Regulation in the following year, without prejudice to the rights of the landowners.

DETERMINATION OF THE MARKET RENTAL VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS

To be used as a benchmark in determining the market rental value of agricultural lands, at least three leased agricultural lands with similar characteristics located in the same settlement will be identified.

In determining the agricultural land to be used as a benchmark, attention will be paid to whether rental fees for special purposes, such as leasing between relatives and shareholders or leasing for social reasons, represent market conditions.