Grain yield in Turkey at risk due to drought: Experts

ISTANBUL

A forecast by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has raised concerns on an imminent decline in crop production across the country due to drought.

The data obtained show that the output of cereal products will decrease by 15 percent this year compared to last year and will be around 31.6 million tons.

It is expected that wheat production will decrease by 13.9 percent to 17.7 million tons, barley production will decrease by 30.7 percent to 5.8 million tons, rye production will decrease by 32.4 percent to 200,000 tons and oat production will decrease by 9.1 percent to 286,000 tons.

The reason for the decrease in production lies in the winter and spring seasons and the droughts that are still continuing in some provinces.

Forecasts do not yet include the danger of fertilizers for cereals and pulses, which are currently in planting season, but it is estimated that increasing fertilizer prices will also reduce the yield of next year.

Süleyman Soylu, a specialist agriculture engineer from Selçuk University, said that 80 percent of barley production in Turkey is made in dry agricultural areas and that the drought experienced last year greatly reduced barley yield.

“The scarcity of barley, which is used in the feed industry by 90 percent, shows the increase in feed prices,” Soylu said, stressing that this result will affect the livestock sector the most.

Süleyman İskenderoğlu, chair of Diyarbakır Yenişehir Chamber of Agriculture in the southeastern province of the Diyarbakır, also stressed that drought is directly affecting production efficiency.

“The region is a barley production bed but has been hit by drought. On top of that, the problem will get bigger if the fertilizer is not given enough. This is a serious threat,” he noted.