Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel on Feb. 7 pledged to form a farmer-friendly government, criticizing the current administration’s agricultural policies during a rally in the central province of Niğde.
Addressing supporters, Özel said a CHP government would waive interest on farmers’ debts owed to cooperatives and public or private banks and restructure the principal payments over five years.
"The average farmer income in Türkiye has fallen to 19,700 [Turkish] liras. We declare from here that when the ballot box comes... when an agriculture minister from Republican People's Party takes office, a farmer-friendly government will be formed,” he said.
“Then it is time to listen to the CHP... to vote for them. It is time to change the government.”
Özel argued that the current agricultural system benefits neither producers nor consumers, pointing to what he described as large price gaps between farm-gate and retail markets.
The CHP leader said planned agricultural production, price-guaranteed purchasing programs and better guidance on crop selection should be implemented to stabilize the sector.
He also claimed that although the law requires allocating 1 percent of the country’s gross national product to agricultural support programs, spending currently stands at about 0.2 percent.
The CHP has held two rallies per week since the March arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the party’s presumptive presidential candidate.
The strategy involves holding one event in an Istanbul district and another in a rotating province, with Özel personally leading the demonstrations. The Niğde rally marked the 87th gathering under this schedule.
