Climate change to affect productivity in Turkish agricultural sector: Expert

Climate change will adversely affect productivity in the agricultural sector in the short term, according to a Turkish expert.

A Turkish academic has drawn attention to the importance of the effects of climate change especially on the agricultural sector.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Zeynep Zaimoğlu, an academic from Çukurova University’s Department of Environmental Engineering, said the negative effects of climate change on the agricultural sector will begin to be seen in the next few months.

“We could not get the rainfall needed for wheat germination in the Konya Plain this year, so wheat can no longer germinate in the plain,” said Zaimoğlu, adding that this anomaly will emerge very quickly as an effect on agricultural yield.

The lack of rainfall in the past six months is triggering drought alert for Konya Plain in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, which is known as the “grain silo” of Turkey due to its vast wheat fields.

Zaimoğlu pointed out that there are serious problems in citrus production in the Çukurova Plain and that the Mediterranean region is experiencing the driest winter of the last 90 years.

“While we do not have to irrigate at all during winter months under normal conditions, the need for irrigation has begun to arise and the water capacity we have is at risk of not being sufficient for this,” she noted.

Speaking about the sudden changes in air temperatures, Zaimoğlu drew attention to the risks of cold weather fluctuations experienced in the country recently.

“The trees were starting to bloom slowly due to the high temperatures in Çukurova around 10 days ago, but now we are at risk of frost,” she said, underlining that the extreme weather conditions will return in the form of declining yield in agriculture.

Hurriyet Daily News