Criticism of Corporatization in Agricultural Support: Farmer Debt Exceeds 1.2 Trillion Lira

Government's 2026 Target: 939 Billion Lira President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced new agricultural support plans to the public.
The program includes 81 billion lira in basic planned production support and a project for 150,000 small cattle.
Stating that the total resources provided to agriculture last year reached 706 billion lira, Erdoğan noted that the target for 2026 is 939 billion lira.
He emphasized that 606 types of agricultural crops are grown in Turkey and claimed that self-sufficiency has been achieved in many strategic products.
"Family Farming is Being Liquidated" The announced figures and implementation methods have sparked debate among producer representatives.
Adnan Çobanoğlu, General Organizing Secretary of Çiftçi-Sen, stated that the supports do not offer a permanent solution for small and medium-sized producers.
Arguing that agricultural production is increasingly falling under the control of large corporations, Çobanoğlu expressed that tying supports to various conditions—such as the use of certified seeds—and the exclusion of indebted farmers from the system leaves producers in a difficult position.
He also claimed that imported livestock are being directed toward large enterprises, leaving small family businesses vulnerable to market competition.
Rising Debt Burden and Import Dependency Sector representative Baki Remzi Suiçmez drew attention to Turkey's high food inflation and the financial structure of producers.
Stating that the total credit debt of farmers reached 1 trillion 239 billion lira as of December 2025, Suiçmez noted that sufficiency rates for basic products have declined.
Emphasizing that attempting to close the supply gap through imports is not sustainable, Suiçmez argued that producers do not receive sufficient additional support during extraordinary conditions such as drought, frost, and disease, which threatens the continuity of production.