Number of farmers in Turkey drop below 500 thousand

In the last 11 years, Turkey has lost half of its registered farmers. In this period, the debt of the farmer, who were not able to earn money in the face of increasing production costs, exceeded 230 billion TL.

In agriculture, which has become the most critical sector of the future periods with the global climate change, the farmer who is cut off from the soil is not coming back. According to SGK (Social Security) data, Turkey which closed the year 2021 with the number of farmers over 500 thousand, cannot keep the farmers at the soil as they cannot make a profit and earn a living with increasing production costs. According to the data, the number of farmers has been below the 500 thousand limit since the beginning of the year. The number of farmers registered with the Social Security Institution was 489 thousand 801 and it remained at the limit of 490 thousand, in June as well.

DEBTS MULTIPLIED

The agricultural sector has a total debt of TL 230.7 billion as of July, of which TL 3.5 billion is under legal procedure. There is a decrease of 9.5 percent (51 thousand) in the number of farmers, on an annual basis. Looking at the data showing the debt situation of farmers with SGK data, there has been a 56 percent decrease in the number of registered producers in the last 11 years, while the number of farmers, which was 1 million 121 thousand in 2011, has decreased to 490 thousand 163. The loan debt of the agricultural sector, which was TL 30 billion in 2011, has exceeded TL 230 billion as of July 2022. The sector’s December 2021 loan debt was TL 166.2 billion.

ONLY OPTION TO REDUCE PRODUCTION

Explaining that the biggest expense of agriculture is rent, which corresponds to 35 to 55 percent of the cost of the product, Meat and Breeding Cattle Breeders Association (TUSEDAD) President said at the Local Chains Meet Conference last week, “Real estate prices have increased the most in this pandemic. As a result, rents have also increased. While there is a cost increase due to the depreciation of the TL, if you do not increase the price of the farmer, the only option, is to reduce production.”

Farmers in decline, tradesmen on the way out

According to the report of the Turkish Economic Policy Research Foundation, there is an increase in the number of tradesmen. ”In this period, the number of tradesmen increased by 5.8 percent (141 thousand), while the number of farmers decreased by 9.5 percent (51 thousand),” the study said, noting that the number of employees with 4 / A insurance has slowed since April 2021.