Drought might hinder planting of some crops: Farmers

SİVAS

Watching out for rain and snowfall for days, farmers, especially those in central provinces, are worried as some crops such as corn and potatoes cannot be planted if the drought continues.

The drought, which is showing its impact more and more throughout the country, has reached alarming proportions in terms of agricultural production.

Some farmers in the central Anatolian provinces of Sivas, Konya and Eskişehir state that the drought may bring the production of certain basic consumables to a standstill.

Hacı Çetindağ, the head of Sivas Chamber of Agriculture stated that due to drought in the city, the planting of some crops that need water has been restricted, adding that the water reserves in the dams are about to run out.

Pointing out that the average water level in the dams in Sivas has decreased to 17 percent, Çetindağ noted that if the drought continues, forage crops, sugar beets, corn and potatoes will not be planted in the spring.

“Underground water reserves in Sivas are also quite insufficient. Even the flow of the Kızılırmak river has decreased. The Kızıldağ mountain feeds the streams of Sivas, but it does not snow in the city,” Çetindağ explained.

Reminding that more than half of the city’s population earns their livelihood from agriculture, Çetindağ warned for the preparation and implementation of the drought action plan urgently.

In addition to Sivas, drought also prevails in Eskişehir. Farmers in the Odunpazarı, Mahmudiye and Tepebaşı districts, which host essential agricultural lands, stated that the most severe drought in the last 30 years has been experienced.

Naci Erdemli, the head of Odunpazarı Chamber of Agriculture stated some of the areas where barley and wheat were planted in the region were wasted.

“It did not rain sufficiently in November and December. Groundwater resources are also running out. They cannot be fed as there is no snowfall in the city,” Erdemli explained.

“We are worried about the coming days. The soil has dried up so much that the plow cannot dig the soil. Our only wish is rain and snowfall,” he expressed.

Süleyman Buluşan, the head of Tepebaşı Chamber of Agriculture, also pointed out that the canals fed from the Porsuk stream have completely dried up.

“Even if we overcome the shortage in cereals, there will be serious yield losses for corn, sunflower and beet,” Buluşan noted.

“If there is no rainfall to feed the soil and the dams, even if we survive in 2023, production will end in 2024. Irrigation grant supports and irrigation systems need to be urgently discussed,” he added.