Hikmet Tunç

 

VAN - In addition to the drought, there are difficult times in agriculture and animal breeding, which is also affected by the economic crisis and price hikes. Citizens passing through the bottleneck said: ‘’The hikes must be stopped and the prices must be made affordable. Animal husbandry and agriculture need to be supported.’’

 

The drought also hit agriculture and animal breeding, which is directly affected by the wrong policies of the government and is the only source of income in the region. The expected yield could not be obtained due to the lack of sufficient precipitation in the region where the continental climate is dominant. While the deepening of the economic crisis and the increase in prices put those who make their living from agriculture and animal breeding in more impasse, citizens are looking for a way out of this ‘bottleneck’.

 

‘Crops often stay in your hand’

 

Esmer Kumli, one of the citizens who worked for days to harvestingh the wheat she planted on the Erek Mountain in Van, says that they could not irrigate their fields this year because there was not enough water. Stating that her only livelihood is farming, Esmer said: ‘’When you plant the crop in the field, it is very expensive, but when it comes to selling it, it can often stay in your hand. Because there is no buyer. In the same way, I resist not to sell the cows I keep because of the increasing hay prices in animal breeding. Because when you sell it, it goes very cheap, but when you try to buy it, you buy it for twice as much.’’

 

‘Winter is ahead, I do not know how we will live’

 

Noting that her husband has been unemployed for years, Esmer states that she makes a living by selling the milk she milks from her cows and the wheat she harvests. She said: ‘’However, neither the milk I obtain nor the wheat I have just harvested do not make any money. You see, I take care of the housekeeping early on, the food, the keeping of my chickens and cows. For the rest of the day, I go to the field to help my wife. It's winter ahead, I do not know how we will live. I do not have any expectations from anyone. We just put so much effort into it that I want to get paid for our crop.’’

 

‘Our product will remain in the field due to the price hikes’

 

Esmer, who bought 10 kilos of wheat for 50 TR last year and planted 100 kilos of wheat in her field, plans to at least cover her kitchen expenses by selling the surplus product. Esmer said: ‘’This year, instead of bringing a harvester, we harvest the wheat with the old-fashioned sickle because I do not have any money. At least we will try to cover it with the money obtained from grinding the wheat or transforming it into flour, but again, the gasoline has been increased. Due to the price hikes, our product will remain in the field. We will not be able to grind the wheat we have gathered with great effort because we cannot afford the gasoline of the reaper. The raises need to be stopped. Prices need to be made affordable. Animal breeding and agriculture need to be supported.’’