11.10.2022 Ankara
The launch of the “Development of Risk Management Options for Small-Scale Farmers in the Context of the Agri-Food Value Chain” conducted in cooperation with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held at TOBB Twin Towers.
The meeting, hosted by
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, was also attended by Agriculture and
Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişci and FAO Türkiye Representative Viorel Gutu. In
his speech at the opening of the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the value of
agriculture is better understood every day all over the world. TOBB President
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the correct management of risks has become much more
important and critical in terms of carrying the sector to the future, “Our
farmers face numerous risks, such as production, financing, marketing, climate
change and natural disasters. It is necessary to help them against all this, to
ensure that they are prepared and to reduce the possible damages that may
arise. At this point, we are very pleased to work with FAO, which has become
the specialized institution of the United Nations with its history of 80 years
and mediates and assists in agricultural development projects, especially in
developing countries, on such a project. We see that FAO's sharing of knowledge
and experience is very valuable and beneficial.”
- “We cannot neglect
agriculture and animal husbandry”
Stating that they
started the project at the beginning of 2022, Hisarcıklıoğlu gave the following
information: “We conducted on-site interviews with nearly a thousand of our
producers in 6 provinces - Ankara, Edirne, Eskişehir, İzmir, Konya and
Şanlıurfa. We received their troubles, opinions and demands. We evaluated the
findings obtained from all these efforts at the workshop we organized in
Eskişehir 2 weeks ago with the participation of our Ministry of Agriculture,
academicians and sectoral experts. We will discuss these in the 2nd
stage of our meeting. Our Minister of Agriculture, together with his team, is
with us today and honored our meeting. Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci Minister
established a very constructive dialogue with our sector with his working style
that emphasizes consultation. He has already supported our producers and
private sector under the chairmanship of the parliamentary commission. We thank
him for this beautiful vision. First with the pandemic and then with the
Russian-Ukrainian war, we see that these sectors have become strategic areas.
We think that our country also has a strong potential. We are the first in
Europe in agricultural product and we are the 10th country in the
world. Thanks to the 25 billion dollars of exports we have obtained from here,
we earn net foreign exchange income and give foreign trade surplus. On the
other hand, we see agriculture and animal husbandry as a sector that we should
never neglect in terms of our future. Because the world population is
increasing every year.
Every year, the global
population increases by as much as the population of Türkiye. The middle class
in the world is constantly growing. The middle class consumes more, spends
more. Almost 2 Türkiye’s join the middle class every year. 2 billion people
live next to us, in our surrounding region. It imports $500 billion worth of
food, agriculture and livestock products. So we have a great opportunity at our
disposal. We can feed this whole geography. Thus, we gain both money and
strategic power. Because he who feeds the world is the leading country of the
world. For these reasons, we cannot neglect agriculture.”
- Actions in the field
of agriculture
Emphasizing the need to
plan the sector on how it should be transformed in accordance with the spirit
of the time and the conditions of the day, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Because we are
also aware that we are behind our potential in agriculture and animal
husbandry. Recently, we have taken important steps to develop this market.
First, we ensured that the licensed warehouse system was put into practice.
Together with TMO, we established the Lidaş licensed warehouse company.
Subsequently, our private sector started to invest in this area.
The number of licensed
warehouses throughout the country has reached 300 and the warehouse capacity
has reached 9 million tons. The electronic product bill (ELÜS) received in
exchange for the product placed here became collateral in accessing the
financing. Our state has also made a great contribution to the development of
licensed warehousing with investment, rent, logistics and analysis supports.
After the licensed warehouses, we realized our 50-year-old dream, the
establishment of the commodity exchange, that is, the Product Specialized
Exchange. Our Commodity Exchanges, by displaying a beautiful vision, became the
founding partners of TMO-Lidas and ensured the opening of many licensed
warehouses in Anatolia. In addition, most of the 25 Authorized Classifier
Laboratories in Türkiye today have been put into operation by our Commodity
Exchanges. To summarize, we see the importance of the agriculture and livestock
sector and our potential here.”
Stating that Türkiye
has 3 strategic advantages that are found in very few countries in the world,
the TOBB President said: “First, we have a different climate and production
structure. Second, we are an enterprising nation that can produce and export
what it produces. Thirdly, we are a country that has established such a
developed food industry that can import and process raw materials and export in
such a way that the added value remains in the country. On the other hand, the
production process in agriculture and animal husbandry is long. Therefore, cash
return takes time, the need for finance and financial risk increases. There are
many risks and uncertainties that cannot be controlled during production. This
leads to a risk of continuity in income. The supply of products is short-term
and the demand is long-term. Financial mechanisms are needed to manage the time
between the start of expenses and the return of cash. These and similar risks,
the problems experienced in the field and the solution proposals are put
forward in our study. In fact, we have significant experience in taking steps against
risks. TARSİM, which is considered one of the world's most successful pool
models in the field of compulsory earthquake insurance DASK and agricultural
insurances, are good examples of what we can achieve. I believe that under the
leadership of our Minister of Agriculture and with the support of our Ministry,
we will make our producers more knowledgeable and cautious about the risks.”
- Minister of
Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirişci
Minister of Agriculture
and Forestry Vahit Kirişci stated in his speech that they have increased the
raw milk support premium per liter to 50 cents for the October, November and
December periods, and said, “(With the figure announced by the National Milk
Council), our producers will receive at least 9 liras per liter with the raw
milk support premium to be paid by our Ministry.”
In his speech here,
Kirişci pointed out that they support farmers and producers in the field of
crop and animal production. Reminding that the National Milk Council met today,
Kirişci said that the Council has set the recommended price of raw cow's milk
with 3.6 percent fat and 3.2 percent protein content, effective from October
14, as 8.5 liras net in the hands of the producer, excluding the raw milk
support premium.
Kirişci stated that the
Ministry increased the raw milk support premium, which is planned to be paid 20
centimes per liter for the October, November and December period of milk
producers as in the period of May 15-September 30, to 50 cents by increasing it
by 2.5 times, “Thus, our producers will receive at least 9 liras per liter
together with the raw milk support premium to be paid by our Ministry. Good
luck. We will continue to stand by our producers and support our farmers with
all our strength.”
- Grain corridor
Kirişci said that with
the right policy put forward by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the
Russian-Ukrainian War, Türkiye has become a mediator country.
Underlining that their
first task in this regard was the commissioning of the grain corridor, Kirişci
stated that approximately 7 million tons of grain was provided to pass through
the corridor and that around 310 ships passed through here.
Pointing out that the
psychological impact of this step was greater than the physical impact, Kirişci
said, “There was a relief at a time when the world was talking about the food
crisis. This is also reflected in the prices.”
- Innovations in
agriculture
Pointing out the
importance of legislation, Kirişci explained the work done in areas such as the
Agricultural Law, licensed warehousing and agricultural insurances.
Kirişci stated that 20
million policies were taken in agricultural insurance in 16 years and that they
provided 12.8 billion liras of public support.
In addition to these,
Kirişci emphasized that they announced the intervention prices in products such
as wheat, barley, hazelnut, tea and grapes on the spot, so that they helped the
people of Anatolia to evaluate their products in the way they deserved and that
they would continue to do so.
Pointing out that they
are also carrying out studies to facilitate the life and comfort of the
producers, Kirişci said that producers can now register to the Farmer
Registration System through e-Government, and when they activate the “Tarım
Cepte” application, producers can do other work and transactions from here.