Agriculture

Substantial rainfall in the winter and spring, coupled with heavy snow in many regions, broke the drought that hit Turkey’s agriculture sector hard in 2013-14, with farmers looking forward to improved yields and higher earnings, and rebounding from a lean year that saw one of the region’s leading agriculture producers having to import grain and other foodstuffs. Agriculture provides jobs for around a quarter of the workforce, a figure that rises further when the value-added component of processing and agribusiness is factored in. Self-sufficient in many products, Turkey is also a major agricultural powerhouse internationally. It is ranked first in Europe in terms of agriculture output and seventh globally. Yet, obstacles to investment persist, primarily the fragmented landholding structure. The government has said it wants to unify the rest of Turkey’s fragmented farms and bring water to all irrigable areas by 2020. This will help the country reach its 2023 target of $150bn in gross harvests.