Tuluhan Tekelioğlu speaks with former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ayşin Işıkgece: "Our soil is sounding the alarm"

We are rapidly consuming our world together. In Turkey, our soil is sounding the alarm. If we do not transition to agro-ecological agriculture through public policy immediately, we will face severe difficulties in the near future. It is time to take action for our world and for our future.

Our documentary film, "It's Worth Producing for Our Future," which features those who have taken responsibility, will meet its audience on October 18. 

One of the heroes in our film is former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and strategic consultant Ayşin Işıkgece. What she describes is chilling. Let us listen to what she has to say before watching our documentary! 

-We are experiencing the effects of climate change firsthand. Nature is not behaving according to our past experiences. What is happening? What awaits us in the near future regarding food sufficiency?

The world population will reach 10 billion by 2050, and Turkey's population will be 105 million. In this scenario, production growth based on food demand in 2050 must be 65% higher than it is today. By 2050, 15% more water will be needed for food production than today. However, at the same time, population growth, the need for additional buildings, and the construction of roads (railways and highways) are constantly stealing land from agricultural areas.

Due to the impact of climate change, a yield loss of 10% to 25% is projected in agricultural production by 2050.

We look at a 2-degree temperature increase and think, 'Well, what will happen?' This 2 degrees seems small to us. However, we do not fully grasp that the destruction this 2-degree increase causes in nature is just as devastating as the effect a 2-degree increase in our body temperature has on us.

With the impact of climate change, when the temperature rises by 2 degrees, the world's total agricultural gross domestic product decreases by 11%.

Since the Industrial Revolution, temperatures have risen by 1.1 degrees over the last 200 years. Due to the impact of climate change, natural disasters have increased fivefold in the last 50 years. At the same time, the 8 most severe wildfires in the world have occurred in the last 10 years. Furthermore, 60% of economic losses have occurred in the agricultural sector.

We are collectively consuming our world at a rapid pace. Our water and air are polluted, and our soil is exhausted.

-We always look at the produce on the soil and make comments. No one questions the state of the soil that produces this yield. The soil is in a silent scream. What is Mother Earth saying?

One-third of the soil on our planet has been degraded to the point where it can no longer produce food!

Turkey is a region where 23% of the land has high desertification sensitivity and 51% has moderate desertification sensitivity.

In 88% of Turkey's soil, the organic matter content is below 2%. An area of 4.2 million hectares has lost its productivity due to salinization.

Turkey is exposed to twice as much erosion as the world average.

-So, what must be done to silence the soil's silent scream?

The world must rapidly change its agricultural production method and transition to regenerative agriculture. This is a change in the business model.

Regenerative agriculture is a farming method that increases biodiversity, enriches the soil, and improves the water cycle through reduced tillage, increased crop diversity, and the use of cover crops.

If the soil is healthy, the produce is healthy, and so is the consumer who eats it.

The unconscious use of fertilizers and pesticides in conventional farming exhausts the soil and makes it even more unproductive. When the yield-reducing effects of climate change are added to this, the nutritional problem of a growing population becomes a serious obstacle. 

We need to approach nature with natural processes or solutions; we need to mimic nature. As we move away from what is natural and employ production methods heavy in fertilizers and pesticides, the soil loses the beneficial elements within its structure. It is like a person who constantly uses antibiotics. Instead, the natural flora within the soil must be protected. The beneficial bacteria in the soil must live. The solution is already within nature. Just mimic nature, imitate it, that is all...

-So, in agriculture, this

News Source: Tuluhan Tekelioğlu