DEVA's Ösen challenges AKP benches: 'The people's sweat is being handed over as a gift': Rights must be given to those who deserve them

Emphasizing that farmers in Aydın and İzmir are in a difficult situation, DEVA Party's Ösen asked, "The Aydın Governorship tells producers 'There is no water, do dry farming,' but what are the landowners to whom you do not provide water supposed to grow?" İzmir MP Ösen continued her speech as follows.

"Turkey needs a comprehensive climate law that stands on solid ground and has clear goals. This legislative proposal is one made to look good to Europe, has no roadmap regarding carbon emissions, and has failed to understand the spirit of the carbon border adjustment mechanism.

The impact of changes in the world's climate on the depletion of our water is certainly undeniable. However, we must also acknowledge that the government does not place enough importance on water, the ways water is consumed, and the use of water in industry and agriculture for production. Let me give you a very close example from my constituency, the Aegean Region, from Aydın. With a decision taken by the Aydın Governorship, farmers farming along the Büyük Menderes Basin were told, 'There is no water, do dry farming.'

Yes, you heard that right. According to the decision taken by the Governorship, due to the water level in the region's dams falling to critical levels, only 50 percent of agricultural lands will be provided with water, and this water will be provided at most twice. What will the farmer in Aydın do in this situation? What will the landowners to whom you do not provide water grow? How will they pay their debts? Do you have any support or work being done, such as postponing debts? Or, as in everything you do, will you just say 'I did it, it's done'?

The same situation occurring in Aydın is also present in İzmir's Bergama, Kınık, and Dikili districts. The entire Bakırçay Basin is facing irrigation problems, and you are resorting to water cuts. Officials in the region are crying out during this period when crops are growing. They are saying, 'If water is not going to be given to us today, when will it be given?' and you are not hearing their voices. Turkey, which must feed 85 million people, allocates 70 percent of its annual usable water to agricultural irrigation.

"THE PEOPLE'S SWEAT IS BEING HANDED OVER AS A GIFT"

In our country, more water than necessary is spent on agricultural irrigation. We waste half of the water we use in agriculture with the old-fashioned method we call surface irrigation. Instead, the government should encourage and support the transition of our farmers to drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation systems, where they will get more efficient results and consume less water. However, we see that farmers are not among your priorities. There is no thought for the farmer.

I ask you, government officials, why don't you say, 'Let our citizens' stomachs be filled cheaply, let our producers find peace'? Why do you serve interest lobbies abroad instead of the people of İzmir, Konya, and Urfa who produce and grow things? We cannot ignore the damage that unconscious irrigation causes to the country's economy and the environment.

At this point, incentives for irrigation systems should be included in the agricultural support packages that the government is legally required to provide under the Agriculture Law. Ziraat Bank, which hands over the people's sweat and the citizens' money as a gift under the name of loans so that friends and cronies can become media bosses, must belong to the farmers again and provide support to the farmer in this regard. Rights must be given to those who deserve them in the proper manner."

News Source: 12punto