Agriculture in Turkey

 Turkey is considered one of the few countries in the world that is self-sufficient in food, while the heavy rain and climatic diversity make it possible to grow a variety of crops, almost all of its regions, except the eastern mountains, are considered one of the most suitable places for animal husbandry.

Turkey has an ancient agricultural history and it contains the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Recently, with the interest in the industry, services, and tourism increasing, the Turkish people’s dependence on agriculture as an important source of income has decreased.

The Turkish government is making its best efforts to restore the position of agriculture and aim to be among the 5 largest agricultural producers in the world by 2023 as the year 2023 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

Agriculture in Turkey

Agriculture in Turkey in numbers:

- The arable land in Turkey represents about 35.5% of the Turkish land.

- In other words, there are approximately 24 million hectares, of which 18.4% are irrigated

-Vegetable agricultural products represent about 76% of Turkey's total agricultural production

-Wheat is the main crop as Turkey is the eighth largest wheat producer in the world.

-Turkey is one of the largest producers of hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins in the world, it is considered the tenth largest producer of cotton in the world, as well as the largest producer of tobacco and tea in the world.

- The total employment in the Turkish agricultural sector accounts for approximately 21.5% of the workforce, while total annual agricultural exports exceed nearly 17 billion USD.

- Over the past 30 years, Turkey's interest in the industry has reduced the share of agriculture contribution in total income.

-This has led to an increase in the internal migration of farmers from the countrysides to urban areas in order to find better job opportunities.

-However, in the 1990s the Turkish government started to pay more attention to the agricultural sector.

-It encourages farmers and provides them with infrastructure and modern irrigation methods along with modern agricultural mechanization technology, in addition, it has established many projects

The most important agricultural cities in Turkey

The area of agricultural land in Turkey represents about 31% of the country's area. According to statistics, the area available for agricultural activities in Turkey represents nearly 50% of the total area of Turkey. This largely agricultural area is the biggest evidence of the necessity of agricultural investment in the country

The following cities are the most important agricultural Provinces in Turkey:

  Konya.

Urdu.

Antalya.

Iznik.

Izmir.

Gaziantep.

  Samson.

Malatya.

Trabzon.

Balikesir.

Kayseri.

Kahramanmaras

The following are the names of some of the Provinces supported by the government for agricultural projects:

  Mersin.

Moss.

Bursa.

Burdur.

Aydin.

Ankara.

Avoncal.

Konya.

Diar Baker.

Sanliurfa

Konya is famous for its food production and ranks first in the largest acres in Turkey, while Antalya is famous for its vegetable cultivation.

the city of (Ordu) is famous for the cultivation of spices and fruits, while (Iznik) is famous for the cultivation of olives

decoration plants usually grow in Izmir, where among the agricultural province in Turkey, Yalova is considered the least arable

The Turkish government also seeks to provide various forms of support to the  workers in the agricultural sector and at the same time it is also trying to attract investors and urge them to invest in agricultural investments in the region in order to achieve self-sufficiency for Turkey and work on the advancement of the agricultural sector and the development of agricultural industries

The most important agricultural products exported from Turkey

Turkey exports a lot of agricultural products, such as beans, cash crops, sugar, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, and olive oil.

The main export markets of the Turkish state are the European Union, the United States, and the countries of the Middle East

The agricultural sector in Turkey is currently undergoing a process of restructuring of EU policies and regulations

For this purpose, the government offers a large number of incentives to potential investors in the agricultural sector

Especially agricultural business, such as:

Processing fruits and vegetables as well as processing animal feed to encourage investment in the industry.

Opportunities for Arab investors in the Turkish agricultural sector

In the long-term efforts of the Turkish government to develop the agricultural sector and achieve complete self-sufficiency in all products, Turkey still imports most of the agricultural products that are insufficient to meet domestic consumption, such as cotton, and also imports most of the meat for domestic consumption

In order to achieve self-sufficiency and promote agriculture and animal husbandry, the Government of Turkey doing its best to attract as many foreign investors as possible and set up comprehensive agricultural and animal husbandry projects

It provides unlimited support to encourage foreign investments in agriculture and animal husbandry

Ziraat Bank of Turkey is one of the most important governmental banks in Turkey, providing loans to farmers and cooperatives to support Turkish agricultural projects

How does the Turkish government encourage foreign investment in agriculture and livestock?

The Turkish government offers the following facilitation for these investment projects: 

Long-term tax incentives.

 Interest-free loans.

Supporting employers and employees to pay social insurance premiums

.Facilitate the distribution of land to investors.

The Turkish government has recently issued a number of decisions to encourage and support investors in the field of livestock and its derivatives in particular

This type of support is known as the Turkish Government Incentive and Support Program "IRARD" and the support percentage can reach 70% of the total Turkish investment

It is worth noting that cooperation with local investors in the field of agriculture and livestock investment will increase the chances of obtaining greater government support up to 50%

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered the most Arab country that invests in Turkish agriculture and animal husbandry and has benefited from the government facilities provided by the Turkish government to foreign investors in its lands.

Turkish citizenship in exchange for investment in Turkey

The Turkish Ministry of Interior affairs stated in early March 2020 that more than 5,000 foreign investors obtained Turkish citizenship by investing in Turkey, and this number is expected to rise soon to 9,000

The Turkish government has amended the law since 2018 and strengthened the requirement to obtain Turkish citizenship in exchange for investment, and this had a positive impact on the Turkish economy 

In the residential part, the law of the Republic of Turkey allows changing the type of real estate registration in Turkey from commercial to residential, meaning converting commercial real estate (shops, markets, office buildings) into apartments and residences

The activity of renting apartments for foreign students and workers has become prosperous, and the demand for it has increased, the change of the type of real estate registration from commercial to residential has become very easy