Omer Ergüder, Co-Chair of the Walnut Producers Association (CÜD), underlined that they have felt the effects of the drought severely in recent years. Although drought affects every sector negatively, its effects on the agricultural sector are much greater. Water, which is very important for the growth of plants and fruits as well as for their roots, is an extremely critical factor affecting both yield and quality product formation. Omer Ergüder, Co-Chair of the Walnut Producers Association (CÜD), underlined that they have felt the effects of the drought severely in recent years. Stating that walnuts need a significant amount of water and water use is critical especially in summer, Ergüder said, “Winter and spring rains are extremely important for our gardens and soils. Among the measures we can take against drought is the use of conscious irrigation methods in the summer months.
Ergüder said, “Drought and climate change are the biggest threats not only for walnut cultivation but also for the entire agricultural sector. We have been feeling the effects of this very seriously in the last 1-2 years. It is beneficial to determine the basin-based water potential and to encourage the cultivation of plants and fruits suitable for this. The wrong product grown in unsuitable regions may pose a threat to our fight against drought as it will increase water consumption. Since walnut is a product that needs a lot of water, water use is critical in the summer months when the precipitation is low. Especially in winter and spring, rains are of high value for both our gardens and our soils. Unfortunately, we have also had our share of drought. Members of our association have been using drip irrigation systems in their gardens for years. In addition, many of our members have ponds and they make use of these areas for the water their gardens need. As an association, we have taken many measures, but despite all the measures and efforts we have taken individually, the situation is a bit worrying.”
“New walnut orchard investments may be adversely affected”
Ergüder underlined that it is very important to use drip irrigation, ponds and in addition to these, the conscious consumption of water during the summer months, “The increase in thirst and drought will have a negative impact especially on investors who want to establish a new walnut orchard. I recommend that those who want to make new investments pay attention to their regional selection, consider the threat of drought and evaluate their investments well. Owners of gardens that have already been established should also take steps without ignoring all these critical points.”
“We measure the water needs of our trees”
Yusuf Yormazoğlu, owner of May Ceviz, a member of the Walnut Producers Association, said that their gardens are located on the Yenişehir plain of Bursa. Stating that there are closed irrigation systems in his gardens, Yormazoğlu gave the following information:
“In our closed irrigation systems, we make use of the dam lake in Boğazköy, which collects some of the streams coming from Uludağ. There is a serious drought in Bursa and Yenişehir plains. It snowed in Uludağ in February and early March, and the dam's occupancy rate is currently at 70 percent. We regularly measure the water needs of our trees throughout the growing process. Türkiye has been experiencing a severe dry period since the autumn of 2022. In the past six months, a significant part of our country has suffered an extraordinary drought. In addition, the fact that there is not enough snow in this period and that there is not enough rain in the low areas also means that our water will be insufficient in the summer season. Unfortunately, it is not possible for the rains that will fall after this date to make up for the deficit. I predict that 2023 will be a year in which agricultural yields will decrease and costs will increase due to insufficient water, and there will be decreases in the amount of supply for many products.”
“Despite all the precautions we take, there is not enough water in our wells”
Haşimcan Yazıcıoğlu, European Agricultural Operations Manager in Uzunköprü, gave the information that although they experienced periodic droughts before 2023, they had such a dry winter for the first time, Yazıcıoğlu said:
“Although we have come to the end of the winter season, we unfortunately do not have enough water in our irrigation ponds. We have taken our measures against drought by establishing irrigation ponds that will meet 80 percent of the annual water needs of the trees. We also have two licensed deep wells. Despite all this, there is not enough water in our ponds and wells. We expect that the dam, fed by the largest river of the region, Meriç, will be filled quickly and agricultural lands will be put into use immediately. Depending on the severity of the drought, we may face different situations. Short-term droughts can cause serious deterioration in the quality of the crop of the year of the drought. Longer droughts can cause trees to become more vulnerable to diseases and harmful substances due to stress factors. This may negatively affect the development and production yield in the coming years. In this way, Turkey, which is one of the countries that consume the most walnuts, can pave the way for imports and meet the consumers at much higher prices, as Turkey is not self-sufficient.”
“We are trying to tolerate water scarcity by supplementing irrigation”
Mesut Mutlu, whose gardens are located in Konya, said, “Our region has been under the risk of drought for a long time. Drilling waters, which rose from 20-30 meters 15-50 years ago, have decreased to almost 150-250 meters today. The depletion or very decrease of surface waters will have a negative impact on walnut production with the climate crisis. Unfortunately, the water shortage in the region where our gardens are located is a bitter reality. Although rain and snow waters are beneficial periodically, they are very insufficient on a yearly basis. For this reason, we try to tolerate water scarcity by supplementing irrigation from our deep well drillings. In order to cope with the drought, we drilled deep wells in different parts of our garden. We have made the necessary infrastructure investments to irrigate our plants at the optimum level by using modern technical agricultural methods. The increase in thirst will cause a decrease in production throughout the country, a decrease in quality, and the product being below the market value. The difficulties caused by input costs due to inflation may also cause our unprofitable farmers to detach from their investments one by one.