Farmers across Türkiye are facing severe crop losses due to prolonged drought and extreme temperatures, with yield declines reaching up to 85%, according to Türkiye Agricultural Chambers Union (TZOB) President Semsi Bayraktar.

This adds to the ongoing pressure from the harshest frost in over a decade, which occurred in April and was estimated by the Turkish Statistical Institute to cause a decline of more than 5% in cereals and other field crops.

Harvest crippled by lack of rain, extreme heat

In a recent statement, Bayraktar said farmers in Türkiye’s southeastern and central regions were unable to begin harvesting due to extreme drought.

Yields in dry-farming cereal fields—where crops grow without irrigation—have dropped to as low as 50 kilograms per decare (1 decare equals 1,000 square meters). Even irrigated lands have not been spared from the damage, he noted.

Bayraktar called for the postponement of farmers’ debts to the state-run Ziraat Bank and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives for at least one year, interest-free.

Bayraktar also warned of a growing threat to sunflower crops, especially in the Thrace region, which accounts for 46% of Türkiye’s sunflower planting area and 35% of its total output.

He added that June 2025 marked the driest June in the Marmara region in 54 years. “Our chambers report that, along with low rainfall, high temperatures are putting the sunflower crop under stress, which raises concerns about further yield losses,” Bayraktar said.

2025 becomes ‘disaster year’ for agriculture

“June 2025 was the fourth-hottest June in Türkiye in the last 55 years,” Bayraktar noted. “In the Marmara region, average temperatures in June were 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal.” He warned that this combination of drought and heat was already causing severe damage.

Frost in April had already impacted fruit crops, and the ongoing drought has since harmed key staple crops, including wheat, barley, and lentils. “In terms of agriculture, 2025 has already become a disaster year for our country,” Bayraktar said.

Bayraktar also urged the government to extend non-insurance disaster assistance, originally designated for frost-affected farmers, to those now suffering from drought losses. “Support should be provided to drought-affected farmers, even if they are not insured,” he said.

US forecasts further decline in Türkiye's wheat production

In line with Bayraktar's statements, the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also projected Türkiye’s wheat production for the 2025/26 season at approximately 16.3 million metric tons—a 15% decline from the previous year.

The report cited prolonged drought, warmer-than-normal winter temperatures, and poor rainfall in major wheat-growing areas such as Central and Southeastern Anatolia as the key factors lowering yields.

The USDA noted that most of Türkiye’s wheat is grown under rainfed conditions, leaving crops highly vulnerable to rainfall shortages. It added that wheat yields in some areas may fall 15% to 30% year-on-year.

The same report projected Türkiye’s wheat consumption at 19.4 million tons and imports at around 10.3 million tons for the season.

Source - https://www.turkiyetoday.com