Local farmers in Kırıkkale have begun harvesting crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and onions. However, this year’s drought conditions have caused losses of up to 50% in agricultural yields. Farmers are also experiencing great difficulties in finding workers. Despite daily wages exceeding 1000 lira, it has become almost impossible to find workers to work in the fields.
Farmers who are unable to get the yield they expect from their fields due to insufficient rainfall say that they will not be able to grow crops in the coming years if the difficulty of finding workers continues. A farmer named Ahmet Doğan, who is a farmer in Keskin district, expresses his concerns by saying, “If this continues, we may not be able to plant in the coming years.”
Farmers are forced to sell the products they grow at low prices. Stating that they sell tomato paste for 2 liras per kilo and table tomatoes for 5 liras per kilo, Doğan said, “We pay 5 liras for onions and potatoes to the middleman. We have difficulty finding workers, daily wages vary between 800 and 1300 liras. If this continues, we may not be able to plant in the coming years.” He speaks as follows.
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