Farmers in Turkey are blaming a lingering drought that gas gripped the southeastern part of the country on climate change, as they grapple with financial losses, Reuters reported on Monday.
In Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province, farmers believe they are facing the worst drought in years and have been unable to plan winter wheat crops due to the parched soils, it said.
“You see, it needs to rain for months so these drops can reach the underground water…’’ Bicar İçli, whose fields saw rain for the first time in eight months in October, told Reuters.
The farmers concerns echo those struggling with the similar problems around the world as global leaders on Monday gathered for the COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, which will last until November 12.
For the conference, 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions by 2030 as part of the Paris Agreement, which Turkey ratified just last month, becoming the final member of the G20 group of industrialised nations to legislate the agreement.
Speaking on farmers trying to make savings by skipping on fertilizer,
Abdulsamet Uçaman, the chairman of Diyarbakir’s agricultural chamber, says the matter is of grave concern.
“This has surpassed the level of concern, it is turning into a catastrophe,’’ he said. “Because the precipitation we were waiting for did not arrive, the farmers could not plant the seed and fertilizers and they are waiting.”
Turkey has been hard hit by global warming this year.
This summer, Turkey suffered a blistering heat wave with the highest temperatures in 60 years, sparking wildfires that raged for nearly two months along its southwestern coast.
More than 2,000 fires scorched around 200,000 hectares (770 square miles) of land, with eight people losing their lives in the disasters that destroyed the ecosystem of the region.
According to İçli, actions to tackle carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement are too late.
“We destroyed nature, we destroyed our underground resources. So, I don’t see the meaning of the climate accord after that,’’ İçli said. “But the measures we will take from now on are nevertheless important. I believe that all farmers should be mindful on these matters. At the same time, I believe that the government needs to (revisit) these agricultural policies.”
Ahval