DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - Farmers in rural Kurdish areas of Turkey say high production costs and taxes have made this year’s bountiful cotton harvest less profitable.
Though the farmers have had an exceptionally productive year for cotton, they complain that higher fuel prices, taxes, and other costs have decreased their income.
“I got a good product this year. But since the fertilizer, fuel, medicine, and electricity were very expensive, we did not see a good profit,” said Yashar Tosunlu, a cotton farmer.
Diyarbakir province alone boasts 50 cotton factories, which turns the crop into textiles and other products.
The province’s farmlands yielded 160,000 tons of cotton last year.
Due to hot temperature degrees, it will yield 240,000 tons of cotton this year, according to Mehmet Demir, the president of the Sur Chamber of Agriculture.
There are three million dunams of farmland in Diyarbakir.
Only 600,000 dunams have been planted with cotton.
Despite having the ideal conditions for growing the crop, farmers say the government is not supporting them enough to warrant growing cotton
“Today, fertilizer costs seven lira. Let them reduce the price to three lira. [One liter of] fuel costs eight lira. This time around last year, we used to buy one litre of fuel for four lira,” Mehmet Demir, the President of the Sur Chamber of Agriculture. “Let the state alleviate these costs. Unless the government interferes, we will not be able to have a good output.”
Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali
Video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
