The strategic objectives of agricultural policies, as identified in the Tenth Development Plan (2014-18) include the development of a globally competitive and environmentally-friendly agricultural sector, and the provision of sufficient and balanced nutrition to Turkish people. The 2018-22 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MoFAL) was prepared with the objectives of ensuring sustainable production, access to adequate and reliable food, rural development and competitiveness of the sector. Particular attention is given to the efforts to increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture, policies to support agricultural production and supply security, raising the standard of living in rural areas, encourage women and young population to production, and R&D and extension of technologies to the sector.
In the 2018-22 Strategic Plan, seven strategic areas have been defined for the agricultural sector: i) agricultural production and supply security; ii) food safety; iii) plant and animal health, and animal welfare; iv) agricultural infrastructure and rural development; v) aquaculture and fisheries resource management; vi) research and development; and vii) institutional capacity building.
Import tariffs, complemented by purchasing prices fixed for cereals and sugar beet, provide support for domestic production. Export subsidies are applied to a number of products including processed fruit and vegetables, poultry meat and eggs. Export subsidies are granted in the form of reductions of the exporters’ debts vis-à-vis public corporations (for example, for taxes, and telecommunications or energy costs) (WTO, 2016[2]). Production quotas are applied at the farm level for sugar beet.
Deficiency payments (“premium payments”) are provided for the products that are in short domestic supply. The payment covers the difference between the market price and the target price that is calculated based on production and marketing cost. Deficiency payments were first introduced in 2002 for oilseeds, olive oil and cotton and later for tea (2004), grains and paddy (2005) and pulses (2008). The payment rates are differentiated in 941 basins. In order to ensure the production planning, determining the most suitable ecological and economical crops with high yield and quality in each agricultural basin, in total 21 eligible products are defined under the support programme including grains, pulses, some oilseeds and feed crops. Contrary to the initial plan to convert former output based payments to area based payments, the payments continue to be based on output under the new system due to technical difficulties of implementation. The government aims to change crop production patterns to follow ecological conditions and to increase the production of crops that are short in supply, while decreasing excess supply in some other crops.
Hazelnut producers receive payments based on area. Area payments are also provided for fodder crops, organic farming, good agricultural practices, certified seeds, gasoline and fertiliser use.
Payments based on input use are provided mainly in the form of interest rate concessions and payments to improve animal breeds and farm production capacity (e.g. field levelling, drainage, soil improvement and protection and land consolidation). Farmers and agricultural enterprises benefit from concessional loans offered by the Ziraat Bank (TCZB) and Agricultural Credit Co-operatives (ACC). Interest rate concessions vary by type of agricultural operation (livestock breeding, irrigation, organic agriculture and good farming practices). Each farmer registered under the National Farmer Registration System (NFRS) receive a so-called “diesel payment” and a “fertiliser payment” separately based on current area of production. Additional support for soil analyses that were a perquisite for receiving fertiliser payments was re-introduced in 2017, as a support to the authorised laboratories.
A number of regulations control water and soil pollution, and provide protection to wetlands. Land conservation payments protect the land quality and ensure sustainability of natural resources in agricultural lands. The government plays a major role in providing infrastructure investment, especially for irrigation, including within the South-Eastern Anatolia and Konya Plain Projects.
Among the four state owned marketing boards for agricultural products, the former Sugar Authority and the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority were closed and MoFAL took over the responsibility to administer the marketing regulations in 2017. Turkey continues to maintain two other state owned marketing boards for agricultural products: the Turkish Grain Board, and the Meat and Milk Board. Although their importance in agricultural marketing has declined, marketing boards provide price support through commodity purchasing and stockpiling. They also disburse subsidies, supply inputs to farmers, and are involved in the importing and exporting of agricultural commodities (OECD, 2011[3]).
The Action Plan for the Program on Enhancing Efficiency of Water Use in Agriculture, introduced in 2015, prioritises modernizing irrigation infrastructure, extending water saving practice for agricultural producers through training and extension programmes, revising support policies based on water scarcity and improving the governance of water policies. The plan aims to decrease the use of underground water and increase the use of water-saving irrigation technologies.
On rural development, a new National Rural Development Strategy was issued in 2014. The ongoing support on rural development projects involves co-financing of beneficiaries to mobilise private-sector resources. Public investments to improve the agricultural infrastructure have been accelerated to boost agricultural production and increase the competitiveness of the sector. MoFAL also increased funding for IT projects, to improve data collection and the monitoring network and its efficient use, and to develop traceability in the sector.
Since the mid-2000s, specific rural development policy frameworks have emerged in the context of Turkey’s efforts to comply with the EU acquis. The first national Rural Development Strategy for 2007-13 was adopted in 2006 as the basis of the EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance Rural Development (IPARD-I). IPARD is intended to address the country’s needs in the pre-accession period in the area of rural development. Within the framework of IPARD-1, EUR 1.045 billion (USD 1.28 billion) was paid to the beneficiaries. The IPARD-I was implemented in 42 provinces and approximately EUR 2.3 billion (USD 2.81 billion) investment was realised with 10 653 projects. The National Rural Development Strategy for 2014-20 covering the IPARD-2 period was adopted in 2014. Turkey has launched its IPARD-II for 2014-20 with a budget of EUR 1.04 billion (USD 1.27 billion). As of the end of 2018, EUR 106.6 million was granted under IPARD-II.
