Home > Current Affairs News > 'Agriculture in Turkey would end,' he had said: Ministry statement regarding Minister Bolat's 'Afghan shepherd' remarks

'Agriculture in Turkey would end,' he had said: Ministry statement regarding Minister Bolat's 'Afghan shepherd' remarks

Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat argued that if Afghans who arrived through illegal channels were to leave, livestock farming in Turkey would end. Following Bolat's remarks, which became a major topic of discussion, a statement was issued by the ministry.

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While citizens are reacting to the AKP government's refugee policy, a striking statement has come from Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat.

Speaking to Melih Altınok, a columnist for the Sabah newspaper, which is known for its proximity to the government, Bolat argued that if the Afghans in Turkey were to leave, livestock farming would end.

"IF 25 THOUSAND AFGHANS LEFT, AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK FARMING WOULD NOT SURVIVE"

"There is so much produce that the farmer cannot find anyone to harvest it. There is a serious problem with a lack of personnel," said Bolat, continuing his remarks as follows:

"This gap cannot be filled by foreign workers either. For example, if 25 thousand Afghan shepherds left today, agriculture and livestock farming would not survive."

MINISTRY STATEMENT REGARDING 'AFGHAN SHEPHERD' REMARKS

These remarks by Bolat became a major topic of discussion. A statement regarding the matter was issued by the Ministry of Trade.

The Ministry of Trade made the following statement regarding the aforementioned remarks:

“It has been observed that the remarks of our Minister of Trade, in which he emphasized to a journalist over the phone the price of lemons, the inability to harvest due to a lack of personnel, and the need to find personnel in agriculture and livestock farming, especially during harvest time, were distorted and served for operational purposes via bot accounts on social media 15 hours after being published in the newspaper.

The impact of terrorism has been eliminated in our Eastern and Southeastern regions through the determined struggle of our security forces, and the regional economy has been revitalized through agriculture and livestock farming.

Those engaged in livestock activities in many of our provinces, especially in our Eastern regions, frequently state that they have a need for shepherds and that they can only fill this gap with Afghan shepherds because they cannot find personnel.”