President Erdoğan announces 'grant support' at Iftar program with farmers

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

-I would like to thank the minister and his team for bringing us together at our Iftar table, where we unite our hearts on this beautiful Ramadan evening. I send my love to all my farmer brothers and sisters who cultivate every inch of our homeland with their sweat.

-We are also grateful to our farmer brothers and sisters for the support they gave to our democracy during its most painful period. We cannot forget that you were on the front lines during the July 15 coup attempt. We will not forget the sacrifice of our farmers, who were willing to set their crops on fire to stop the coup plotters. Together, we have brought our country to an appreciated level not only in democracy but also in agriculture, livestock, and exports.

-Since the day we took office, we have been striving for the brotherhood of all our citizens. Without getting stuck on obstacles, without paying attention to attacks targeting myself and the government, and without giving credit to sabotage, we are striving for everyone's peace. We are striving to give our farmer brothers and sisters the value they deserve.

-Our country's true potential is emerging in every field of agriculture. Those who are in the sector know well what is what. I will only share a few important figures. To increase efficient and high-quality production, we have provided 2 trillion 70 billion liras in agricultural support over the last 22 years; we made a payment of 4 billion liras in 2025, and it will reach 135 billion liras by the end of the year. 206 types of agricultural crops are produced in our country, and we are self-sufficient in many of them.

-We are 4th in the world in vegetable and fruit production. We are 1st in Europe in cattle production. We are 2nd in Europe in egg production. Our agriculture and forestry sector has achieved growth above the Turkey average. In 2024, our agricultural output rose to 74 billion dollars.

-"Agriculture is finished" is a slander; Turkey is a leader in Europe and 8th in the world. We have brought our exports to 32.6 billion dollars. We have had a foreign trade surplus of 110 billion dollars in the last 22 years. We are among the top 3 countries in the world in 13 products in exports. We export to 104 countries in seed production. For those whose perception is not closed, these figures are sufficient. It is useless to say anything to those who oppose the country.

-These are the achievements of our agricultural sector, which the opposition tries to overshadow by hoping for distortions.

-Our goal is for our citizens to reach quality and healthy products. It is that there should be no fraud or deception in the products our people pay for. As a result of the inspections, products that are imitated or adulterated are published instantly.

-In addition to food inspections, the fight against exorbitant prices continues. The greedy are resorting to every means to turn the blessed month of Ramadan into an opportunity. We have taken a series of measures to show the opportunists that the field is not empty, and we have entered into a very intense struggle on four fronts. We have also taken measures regarding product supply. There was no supply shortage. Our struggle will continue after the month of Ramadan. We will continue to stop those who set their eyes on the citizen's halal bread.

-If we are meeting food needs without problems, the greatest effort here is yours. We are now planning which product will be planted where and how much. We will also prevent complaints such as "this product did not make money." Along with production planning, we have shared our new model with the public. Now our farmer knows in advance how much support they will receive.

-We place water at the center of all our agricultural policies. This year, we will put 321 more facilities into service with an investment of 132 billion liras. It is a fact that it is not possible to achieve these results only with our state's investments and your efforts; we are being exposed more to the problems caused by climate change. We remind you of the importance of agricultural insurance and we continue to encourage our brothers and sisters to get insured. We provide support for our farmers to protect their products with innovations.

-In 2025, we will provide 18.5 billion liras of rural development support from institutions and organizations in the budget, and we will have provided employment for 10 thousand people. We continue to use the financing provided by international financial institutions for the development of our sector. Over 5 years, we will provide 1 billion dollars, that is, 37 billion liras of new resources to our farmers as grants. 250 million dollars of this has been allocated to the earthquake zone.