Turkish gov’t set to distribute ‘300 sheep to every farmer’

Burak Coşan - KARS

The government will “distribute 300 sheep to every farmer” in Turkey who wants it in a bid to revive the livestock sector, to encourage farmers not to move to urban areas, and to ease high meat prices, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba has stated.

“We will distribute 300 sheep to every farmer. Our priority is preventing more farmers from moving to urban areas, not to motivate people who live in the cities to move to villages. When distributing those animals, regions with pastures will be given priority,” Fakıbaba said, speaking at a sector summit in the eastern province of Kars hosted by Hürriyet and Denizbank.

He also noted that the government has been working on how to curb imports and support animal breeding, amid criticism of rising imports of meat and struggling domestic production.

“We have done the math. If we provide 300 sheep and a year later they give birth to 300 lambs, breeders will keep those lambs and the state will buy back the sheep to redistribute to other farmers,” Fakıbaba said.

He also added that the government will also pay for the veterinary costs, social security and the minimum wage.