Minister Yumaklı's statement on 'agricultural frost': No danger

Minister Yumaklı stated that comments made by some individuals suggesting that 'we will become dependent on foreign countries' while damage assessment studies are still ongoing are not well-intentioned. Yumaklı also underscored that there is no risk that would negatively affect the domestic food supply for strategic agricultural products.

In a written statement issued by the Ministry, it was reported that Yumaklı held an evaluation meeting with Ministry bureaucrats regarding the agricultural frost event experienced in some regions due to adverse weather conditions.

In his statement after the meeting, Yumaklı pointed out that Turkey is among the countries most affected by global climate change due to its geographical location.

"OUR TEAMS ARE IN THE FIELD"

Pointing out that agricultural production is one of the sectors most affected by weather conditions, Yumaklı recalled that the country has faced agricultural frost, snowfall, and hail events in certain regions as a result of sudden drops in air temperatures, especially in the last 4-day period.

Conveying his best wishes to all producers and farmers once again, Yumaklı stated the following:

"As a Ministry, we are of course following weather movements very closely. Therefore, we made assessments about what would happen in the coming period even before these weather movements occurred. Our Ministry teams warned our producers in the provinces where frost events could be seen. Together with them, they started work to minimize the effects of this agricultural frost. All teams are carrying out the necessary work in the field regarding the agricultural frost event experienced in some regions after the adverse weather conditions and have begun damage assessment studies. Especially last Friday night, the temperature dropped to minus 15 degrees. This night was also the period when most of the damage occurred."

Stating that he informed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in detail about the subject, Yumaklı expressed that President Erdoğan gave instructions for the work to be carried out rapidly and completed quickly.

Minister Yumaklı stated that the work in the field is continuing and continued as follows:

"While damage assessment studies are still ongoing, we have encountered comments such as 'all agricultural activity in our country is negatively affected by this, we are facing a major disaster in terms of food supply security, and we will be dependent on foreign countries.' I want to state that these are definitely not well-intentioned comments. There is no risk that will negatively affect the domestic food supply for agricultural products of strategic importance, especially cereals, legumes, and oilseeds, but the frost event that occurred as a result of temperatures dropping to minus 15 degrees has unfortunately affected fruit varieties in certain regions of our country."

Noting that according to initial findings and field observations, damage occurred in varying degrees in some fruit groups such as apricots, grapes, apples, peaches, and nectarines, Yumaklı used the expression, "I want to state that Turkey, which is one of the rare examples in the world in this sense with the production of 206 types of agricultural products, does not have any problems regarding food supply security related to strategic products after the recent frost event."

Yumaklı stated that the extent of the damage in the fruit group will also emerge as a result of the ongoing studies.

Emphasizing that they are carrying out all kinds of necessary work as a Ministry for the continuity of production, considering that weather conditions have begun to return to seasonal norms and production processes are continuing, Minister Yumaklı reported the following:

"This event has also shown that taking out agricultural insurance (TARSİM) is vital to avoid being affected by negative situations such as frost, hail, flood, and drought. 70 percent of the policy premium for this is covered by our state. Furthermore, registration is also extremely important. Therefore, damage assessments for those registered in the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS) are carried out much more easily and quickly. From here, I say to all our farmers, if you are definitely engaged in agricultural production, take out agricultural insurance and definitely register with the ÇKS. As we have done until now, we will continue to stand by our farmers who ensure our food supply security as a Ministry."