Turkey faces food crisis

The economic crisis in Turkey and North Kurdistan continues to worsen. Inflation, price increases and neoliberal economic policies, as well as the war in Kurdistan, have severely damaged agriculture, making Turkey increasingly dependent on imports in the food sector. The spokesman for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Agricultural Commission, Rıdvan Turan, warns in particular against the neoliberal economic policies that have escalated under AKP rule and have “practically liquidated” small-scale agriculture.

“Hundreds of thousands of farmers have had to leave their land and migrate to the cities. There they have joined the caravan of the unemployed. There are virtually no unemployment benefits in Turkey, and some 30 million people live below the hunger line,” he said.

“Food security was destroyed”

Turan continued, “During the 19-year AKP rule, food sovereignty and food security, which guaranteed society access to healthy and cheap food, were destroyed. Measures were implemented to provide higher profits to multinational companies.

Due to economic crisis, pandemic and the rising exchange rates that accompanied the agricultural policies of the AKP, and the prevailing drought, farmers are no longer able to produce. They have become dependent on multinational corporations for inputs. In the context of simultaneously rising import costs, farmers have become indebted to agricultural credit cooperatives, loan sharks, and especially private and public banks. Farmers’ debts to public and agricultural credit cooperatives amount to over TL 150 billion [about 15 billion euros].”

“As HDP we stand on the side of the farmers“

Turan continued, “The massive increase in the price of seeds and animal feed leads to a significant increase in the price of production and thus also in the price of products. In view of the impoverishment of society, many people can no longer afford agricultural products and farmers are left sitting on their production. Today, farmers in Turkey throw away their products because they cannot sell them. They are protesting against the AKP. There is a food crisis coming. As HDP, we stand on the side of the agricultural workers who produce with the greatest effort against the profit motive of the multinational companies. We believe that we can solve the problems of the peasants by uniting. Despite all the negative developments, we have the power to change this broken system, and we promise to do it together with the farmers.”