DEVA Party Ankara Deputy İdris Şahin criticized the government's budget and agricultural policies based on the difference between the appropriation foreseen for interest expenses and the resources allocated to agricultural support in the 2027 budget proposal.
In a written statement, Şahin noted that 3 trillion 975 billion liras were allocated for interest expenses and 235 billion liras for agricultural support programs in the 2027 budget proposal. Stating that the approximate 22-day average of the annual appropriation allocated to interest reaches 240 billion liras, Şahin expressed that this amount is more than the support to be given to farmers in a year.
The 22-day budget share of interest exceeds the farmer's one-year support. In your budget, 22 days of interest are more valuable than one year of the farmer.
Recalling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call to farmers to "leave not a single inch of land unplanted," Şahin argued that while more production is expected from producers, the producer is not supported in the budget. Şahin said, "You should have tightened your belts not on the farmer, but when it came to interest, waste, and cutting off the path to fund windfalls."
EMPHASIS ON THE AGRICULTURAL LAW
Pointing to the Agricultural Law No. 5488, Şahin reminded that the resource to be allocated from the budget for agricultural support cannot be less than 1 percent of the gross national product. Stating that a GDP of 111 trillion 207 billion liras is foreseen for 2027 in the Medium-Term Program, Şahin expressed that the GNP in the law and the GDP in the MTP are not the same indicator, and said that the calculation should be explained to the public.
Şahin stated that the total presented as "1 trillion 305 billion liras of agricultural support" in the budget also includes investments, credit supports, and tax expenditures. Noting that the appropriation the farmer will receive directly from agricultural support programs is 235 billion liras, Şahin stated that the money allocated to interest reaches approximately 17 times this amount.
In his statement, Şahin also touched upon agricultural input costs, reporting that according to TUIK's August Agricultural Input Price Index (Agricultural-IPI) data, agricultural inputs increased by 30.28 percent annually, and the annual increase in energy and lubricant prices rose to 43.14 percent. Şahin stated that, in contrast, agricultural product producer prices fell by 0.93 percent in August and 1.99 percent in September.
Saying that the producer bears the burden of diesel, fertilizer, debt, and risk, Şahin assessed, "It is not the farmer who leaves the field empty, but this agricultural and budget policy that leaves the farmer's pocket empty." Arguing that the budget preference was made in favor of interest rather than the producer, Şahin stated that it would become difficult for the call for national production to find a response under these conditions.
News Source: 12punto
