Agriculture and fisheries

Turkey is exposed to multiple natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID) and has considerable experience in managing the associated risks. Drought, in particular, has had significant impacts on the country’s agricultural sector, and the frequency of droughts is expected to increase due to climate change. Existing governance and policy frameworks seek to ensure that the agricultural sector is prepared for, and able to respond to, adverse events as they occur. While these mechanisms contribute to improved resilience, further opportunities exist to strengthen policy processes, in particular by increasing farmer and private sector participation.

Natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID), such as floods, droughts, severe storms, and animal pests and diseases have significant, widespread and long-lasting impacts on agricultural sectors around the world. With climate change set to amplify many of these impacts, a 'business-as-usual' approach to disaster risk management in agriculture cannot continue if we are to meet the challenges of agricultural productivity and sustainability growth, and sustainable development. Drawing from seven case studies – Chile, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States – this joint OECD-FAO report argues for a new approach to building resilience to NHID in agriculture. It explores the policy measures, governance arrangements, on-farm strategies and other initiatives that countries are using to increase agricultural resilience to NHID, highlighting emerging good practices. It offers concrete recommendations on what more needs to be done to shift from coping with the impacts of disasters, to an ex ante approach that focuses on preventing and mitigating the impacts of disasters, helping the sector be better prepared to respond to disasters, and to adapt and transform in order to be better positioned for future disasters.

Productivity growth in the Turkish agricultural sector is supported today by better technologies, crop varieties and animal breeds. Yet improvements have slowed since the late 2000s, and the productivity gap between agriculture and the rest of the economy remains large. To overcome these challenges, Turkey will need to reduce the substantial technological and human resource disparities between small-holder and commercial segments in agriculture, and ensure more equal regional development. Considerable structural adjustment is also required, both within agriculture and in the overall economy, supported by broad policy actions in the areas of labour, education, social security systems, and land reform. Important efforts have been made to boost national innovation systems, but there remains considerable catch up in terms of the quality and impact of R&D.  

Turkey is an important producer and exporter of agricultural commodities on world markets and is estimated to be the world’s 7th-largest agricultural producer. Although the economic importance of agricultural sector relative to the industrial and service sectors has been declining, agriculture still remains a key part of Turkey’s society, employing about one quarter of the workforce and generating most of income and employment in rural areas. Agricultural policies in Turkey have evolved significantly over time and the new Agricultural Law agreed in 2006 aims to align Turkey’s agricultural policies with those of the European Union. The main purpose of the study is to evaluate recent policy developments in the context of a broader review of policy developments since the implementation of the Agricultural Reform Implementation Project (ARIP) in 2001. This study also discusses several emerging issues and challenges for Turkish agricultural policies, and offers key policy recommendations.