Agricultural policy in the Atatürk era

The agricultural sector inherited by the new Turkish state from the Ottoman Empire shows that only a small portion of arable land could be used for agricultural activities. The reasons for this were the qualitative and quantitative lack of population, the backwardness of production techniques, and other economic factors. According to the 1927 Agricultural Census, the rate of land opened for agriculture was calculated at 3%.

During the years of the First World War and the War of Independence, the agricultural structure deteriorated even further. The Republic of Turkey took over a Turkish agriculture that had regressed in every respect. In this regard, the agricultural policy and results of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and leader of the new state, are of great importance.

Atatürk's fundamental philosophy in agricultural economics was to prioritize production, utilize technological innovations (a photo of Atatürk on a tractor could be placed here), and remove obstacles in front of agricultural producers.

The sayings of Atatürk regarding agriculture and farmers reveal his own philosophy.

“The true owner and master of Turkey is the peasant, who is the real producer.”

“The basis of the national economy is agriculture.”

“True conquests are not those made only with the sword, but those made with the plow.”

“The sword and the plow; the first of these two conquerors was always defeated by the second.”

“Wealth, and the abundance, comfort, and happiness that are its natural consequences, are the right of those who work, and only those who work.”

Atatürk expressed his thoughts on the Turkish peasant at a dinner given by “farmers” at the Turkish Hearth (Türk Ocağı) in Adana in 1923 as follows.

“Respected farmers; you are the fathers of us all, you are the masters of us all. The farmer and the shepherd are the essential elements for this nation. It is true that other elements are necessary and useful for this essential element. However, we must know without any illusion that if that essential element does not exist, the other elements do not exist either.”

“The fifteenth year of the Republic should be the beginning of planned, systematic agriculture and village development.”

Atatürk expressed his thoughts on land reform as follows:

“In our new period of activity, you will deal significantly with the issue of providing land to farmers who do not have land, both in this region and in other parts of the country. I hope that we will succeed in giving more breadth to the government's efforts in this direction with our new measures.”

The tithe (Aşar) tax, which oppressed the people and hindered the increase of agricultural production because it was collected by tax farmers (mültezim), was abolished by Atatürk through a financial revolution. At that time, the tithe tax accounted for 48% of direct taxes and 28.6% of total public revenues. The share of agriculture in total tax revenues was reduced from 33% to 10%, and fuel taxes, which today constitute 3 per thousand of budget revenues, are not being abolished. If such a decision were made to protect the farmer and support national agricultural production, the farmer could purchase diesel fuel 42% cheaper.

The tax revenue lost from the tithe tax was shifted to consumption and transaction taxes; in this way, while the producer segment in agriculture was relieved, the tax burden was left on the urban segment.

Another tax affecting the farmer was the animal tax. It was decided by the Istanbul Chamber of Deputies to double this tax, which varied by region, but this decision was abolished by the first law of the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) and continued to be applied as before.

One of the foundations of Atatürk's agricultural policy is the practices of the Ziraat Bank (Agricultural Bank) that support agriculture. The loans provided by the Ziraat Bank, especially in the first years of the Republic, were increased 5-fold compared to the last period of the Ottoman Empire, and the credit given to farmers reached 121 million by 1932. In this way, the farmer's access to finance was facilitated. Due to bad weather conditions and poor harvests in 1926, it was ensured that no interest was charged and that debts were paid in six installments over 3 years. Unfortunately, according to the recent practices of the Ziraat Bank of sending foreclosure notices to farmers, it is seen once again how important these actions were.

Agro-based industrial establishments also began to be opened during the Atatürk era. The Alpullu and Uşak Sugar Factories were opened in 1926. In this way, the beets produced domestically were processed within the country, allowing for the production of products with higher added value. The recent closure of agro-based sugar factories and the choice of importing sugar unfortunately puts both the producing farmer and the sugar consumer in a difficult situation.

Between 1923 and 1938, the government distributed 200,162 plows to farmers. In the first four years of the Republic, 2,000 tractors were introduced for agricultural production. Atatürk wanted modern agricultural machinery to be used on the forest farm he established himself.

The rate of land opened for agriculture was calculated at 3% according to the 1927 Agricultural Census. Atatürk wanted land reform to be carried out. In this way, he wanted to increase the areas where agricultural production would take place.

In this context, the following expressions show his thoughts in this area.

“It is absolutely necessary for every Turkish farmer family to own the land they will live on and work on.”

In his speech at the opening of the TBMM on November 1, 1937:

“First of all, there should be no landless farmers left in the country. What is more important than this is that the land that can support a farmer family must, for no reason or circumstance, take on an indivisible nature. The size of the land that large farmers and farm owners can operate must be limited according to the population density and soil fertility level of the regions of the country where the land is located…”

Important agricultural organizations were established to strengthen the institutional structure to increase agricultural production.

The agricultural organization was established on December 29, 1931, with Law No. 1910 on the Organization of Agriculture.

In 1935, the veterinary organization was established under the Law on the Duties and Organization of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1937, the forest organization was established with the Forest Law No. 3116.

In conclusion, during the Atatürk era, the institutional structure related to agriculture was established, tax obstacles in front of the farmer were removed, the farmer's knowledge of agricultural activities was increased, the farmer's financing needs were met by erasing debts and increasing credit opportunities, steps were taken for mechanization in agriculture, and agro-based industrial facilities were established. An increase in agricultural production and an increase in foreign trade based on agricultural production were achieved. Thanks to this agricultural income, the country paid its foreign debts, primarily the Public Debt Administration (Duyun-u Umumiye). For 15 years, there was a current account surplus in agricultural products. Considering that more than 80% of our exports were agricultural products, the significant improvements made in agriculture enabled us to have an export surplus. During this period, agricultural production increased by about 85%. In this way, an economic development model based on agriculture was implemented during the Atatürk era. Not much agricultural development activity has been carried out in our country after this period, and the current agricultural system dates back to those days. After the 1950s, countries that are important agricultural exporters, such as the Netherlands, took this agricultural development model as an example.