Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Branch President Dr. participated in the agenda program titled "Let Everyone Hear", which was screened with the evaluations of Journalist Writer Mesut Demir and Journalist Writer Mehmet Ali Ekmekçi, moderated by Aylin Tekir. Fevzi Çakmak was the guest.
“INDUSTRIALIZATION POLICIES DESTROYED THE PLAINS”
Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Branch President Dr. started the topic by saying that the total agricultural land area of Bursa in 2006 was 417 thousand hectares. Fevzi Çakmak said, “According to 2022 data, the presence of agricultural lands decreased to 370 thousand hectares. In other words, in 16 years, 47 thousand hectares of our agricultural land was taken out of agriculture. This means that 11,5 percent of agricultural land was destroyed. So how was it destroyed? It was destroyed by urbanization and industrialization. "Unfortunately, as a result of the industrialization policies implemented by the general governments, the construction of the automotive industry in the city, as well as the creation of the sub-industry, and the developing job opportunities caused migration movements, the city expanded in an unstoppable way, considering the housing needs of these people." said.
“WE HOPE FOR A POLICY WHERE AGRICULTURE IS A PRIORITY”
Dr. Çakmak also stated that this expansion caused a tendency towards illegal construction due to the inability of city administrations to create sufficient building stocks and said, “These illegal constructions also started to flow towards the plains. Unfortunately, our beautiful plains were destroyed one by one. At the point we have reached today, we could not protect the great plains, we destroyed them, even though there was a Plain Protection Law and they had the status of a great plain. I hope that in the future, our new managers will be sensitive to this issue. They follow a policy in which agriculture and tourism are priorities, not industry. “At least we will protect our lands in this current situation and work to make them more productive.” he said.
Pointing out that Bursa is very valuable in terms of productivity and local products, Çakmak continued his words as follows:
“WE ESTABLISHED AUTOMOTIVE FACTORIES ON ALL 3 SIDES OF THE CITY”
“When we look at it, Bursa is a very productive city, with a lot of local products, producing added value, and with high irrigation potential. There are many local products with high potential that we do not think of, such as peaches, pears and chestnuts. Bursa's agricultural land availability is not at a very high level when we look at Turkey in general. We rank 34th in terms of agricultural land in Turkey, but since we produce products that provide added value even on our existing lands, we rank 6th economically in terms of creating added value in agricultural products. We own the land of such a valuable city. If you still say that you are protecting the Bursa Plain, you can look at the previous rate of 11.5 percent. These lands, plains went to industries and cities. We established automotive factories on all 3 sides of the city. However, inevitably migrations and sub-industries occurred. Thus, Bursa was transformed into an industrial city. Agricultural lands have been destroyed not only during this government period, but also with the industrialization drive from past to present. "Wrong steps taken from past to present and wrong policies followed have gradually diminished Bursa's potential as an agricultural city."
LESS SUPPORT IS GIVEN THAN THE AMOUNT PROVIDED BY THE LAW
Dr. also mentioned that the support given to agriculture has decreased and is late. Fevzi Çakmak said, “Article 21 of the Agricultural Law is very clear. The law states: “It cannot be less than one percent of the gross national product.” says. This law talks about the support to be given to farmers. Our gross product in 2023 was 26 trillion TL, and accordingly, 260 billion TL must be paid. The amount of support included in the 2024 budget is 91 billion TL. Almost 3/1 of the amount that should be given by the said law has been allocated. These are the questions 'Are they used in accordance with their meaning?' "We must question." He stated:
SUPPORT FOR FARMERS IS LATE
Çakmak also mentioned that the support to farmers is late and said, “When you need money from somewhere, if we find the money at that moment, our needs will be met, but there is no such support for farmers. The farmer will produce, sell and get his money the next year. Farmers are trying to turn their business around with loans from banks and fertilizer dealers. When this is the case, the costs become much higher. Thus, 91 billion support ceases to be support. Because it is not given when needed. It makes sense when I can get diesel support, fertilizer and seed support when I need it. However, this is not done, and support is given at a rate below the law. Farmers should be supported all over the world. It is a sector that definitely needs to be supported. If it is not supported, there will be no food. Without food, we all go home hungry. For this reason, we first need to develop policies that will keep farmers in agriculture.” he said.
