Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı explains the crisis in agriculture: 'Turkey has clearly lost its food sovereignty'

Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr

Once considered one of the few self-sufficient countries, Turkey has now become dependent on foreign sources for many basic food items that reach our tables. Structural problems in agriculture, unplanned policies, preferences, and rising costs have dragged Turkey into the position of an importer of agricultural products year by year, and as a result, a fire has started in the pockets of citizens buying products from the shelves. The rise in food inflation could not be curbed. According to Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, the situation will become increasingly dire. The reason is foreign dependency. 

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, whose book titled 'Turkish Agriculture: Imperialist Attack and Solutions' hit the shelves at the beginning of May, explained the details of the crisis in agriculture, which is growing and compounding, to 12punto. 

Stating, “Turkey has clearly lost its food sovereignty because our agricultural production has decreased. Turkish agriculture is going through difficult days,” Kaymakçı emphasized privatizations and said the following: 

‘LAND THE SIZE OF THREE THRACES HAS BEEN ABANDONED’

“Food is a very important issue in meeting people's needs. It constitutes the first priority. Small and medium-sized enterprises were pushed out of sight. Agricultural supports were privatized in the direction of corporate farming, and accordingly, agricultural kits that support the markets of small and medium-sized enterprises were privatized. As a result, farmers in Turkey began to abandon agriculture. For example, land the size of three Thraces was abandoned. The countryside was emptied, and these people migrated to the cities.”

According to TUIK data, Turkey imported approximately 2.3 billion dollars worth of wheat alone in 2023. Most of this import came from Russia and Ukraine. In the same year, over 1 billion dollars in legumes and 1.5 billion dollars in sunflower oil were imported. Turkey's agricultural production depends on input costs. Almost all basic inputs such as diesel, fertilizer, feed, and medicine are imported. 

‘WE ARE IMPORTING LENTILS FROM CANADA’ 

Kaymakçı explains the situation as follows:

“In the 1980s, for example, the number of cattle per 100 people was around 60. Now it has dropped to 19. We are in an even more dire situation with sheep and goats. Again, the number of sheep per 100 people has dropped from 260 to almost 60. For example, we are now importing lentils from Canada. We have started to import all other agricultural products from abroad as well.”

The number of farmers is decreasing every year. According to the Farmer Registration System, the number of farmers, which was 1 million 127 thousand in 2008, has fallen below 480 thousand as of 2023. The decrease in production is also reflected heavily in the prices on the shelves. Stating, “As consumers, when we go to the market, the products are at very high levels,” Kaymakçı also reminded of the inflation in input costs and said:  

“If we draw a general framework, less than 50 percent of the money paid by the consumer is transferred to the producer. Apart from this, fertilizer is expensive, fuel is expensive, and other agricultural inputs are expensive. So, there is also a cost-push inflation.”

‘OUR PASTURE AREAS HAVE ALSO SHRUNK’

Another problem is agricultural land. In the last 20 years, more than 3 million hectares of agricultural land have been taken out of agricultural use. According to TUIK data, agricultural land in Turkey, which was approximately 26.4 million hectares in 2001, fell to 22.7 million hectares as of 2023. In other words, approximately 3.7 million hectares of agricultural land have either been taken out of use or allocated for other purposes in 22 years.

Kaymakçı explained the effect of the shrinkage in pasture areas on prices as follows: 

“Red meat prices are extremely high. Why are they high? Because we mainly need pastures for red meat production. Our pasture areas have also shrunk. That is, it has dropped from 40 million hectares to 14 million hectares now. We have an agricultural law. Our agricultural law states that the resources allocated to agricultural supports cannot be less than 1 percent of the national income. However, the agricultural supports applied so far have not even been 1 percent in the last 20 years. It has turned from 8 per thousand to 2 per thousand in 2024. The way out is that agricultural supports must be increased above 1 percent.”