7,1 Million Hectares of Land Has Water

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı stated that the demand for pure and safe food is increasing rapidly with the increase in the world population, and according to the projection made by the United Nations on the world population, the population will reach approximately 2050 billion in 9, and according to the projection made by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the population of Turkey will increase to approximately 95 million individuals. He pointed out that it is expected to reach Yumaklı stated that with the droughts experienced in recent years due to the decrease in precipitation due to the effect of global warming, it has been observed once again that water is more valuable and said: “At this point, food security and supply depending on agriculture and water have become our most important issue. Irrigation is an investment that has a multiplier effect in agriculture. The transition to irrigated agriculture provides services primarily to the agricultural sector, but also serves as a driving force for other sectors. "With irrigation, it is possible to produce more diverse, more and higher quality products," he said.

Reminding that Turkey's agricultural areas are approximately 24 million hectares, Yumaklı informed that the amount of land that can be technically and economically irrigated has been determined as 8,5 million hectares. Minister Yumaklı emphasized that as of 2023, approximately 80 million hectares of land, corresponding to 7,1 percent of the technically and economically irrigable land, has been opened to irrigation.

“IT INCREASES AGRICULTURAL INCOME 5-fold”

Pointing out that the limited plant pattern in dry farming areas has diversified with the developed irrigation projects, Yumaklı made the following evaluation:

“The increase in production costs in irrigated areas and gross national agricultural income increases approximately 5 times compared to the situation without the project. On the one hand, this situation serves the aim of reducing poverty, which is one of the aims of rural development; On the other hand, it prevents migration because it increases the standard of living. Our General Directorate of DSI, the main establishment of our Ministry, will continue its irrigation investments rapidly in 2024. We aim to complete 65 irrigation facilities and 23 consolidation projects this year and put them at the service of our nation.

With the investments to be made in 2024; "We aim to increase the area opened for irrigation from 7,1 million hectares to 7,23 million hectares, and the area of ​​completed consolidation from 7,3 million hectares to 7,9 million hectares."

SOME PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED

Minister Yumaklı, Konya Plain 1,2,3 Irrigation Supply (11.820 ha irrigation), Çorum Koçhisar Irrigation Part 2 (4.267 ha irrigation), Samsun 19 Mayıs Dam Irrigation (7.693 ha irrigation) Diyarbakır Silvan Kuruçay Dam Irrigation (5.030 ha irrigation) and Kayseri Bünyan Elbaşı-Karadayı Irrigation (5.402 ha irrigation) projects will be completed this year.