Earthquakes cause $6.7 billion in losses, damages to Turkish agriculture

The devastating earthquakes that jolted southeastern Türkiye last month have inflicted around $6.7 billion in losses and damages to the region’s agriculture and livestock, the United Nations food agency noted this week, according to Daily Sabah.

The February 6 earthquakes were the worst natural disaster to strike modern-day Türkiye and hit parts of Syria, killing over 56,000 – the vast majority in Türkiye.

Nearly 300,000 buildings in Türkiye collapsed or were severely damaged in 11 provinces, leaving millions homeless.

The tremors inflicted damage and loss to livestock, agricultural equipment, and infrastructure, including greenhouses, irrigation, storage facilities and food and feed production facilities.

Last month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) raised concerns over disruptions to essential food production and sought support to address immediate livelihood needs.

On March 21, the FAO Representative in Türkiye Viorel Gutu said the $6.7 billion in losses and damage covered crops, livestock production, food stocks, and agricultural infrastructure and assets.

Joining the bi-weekly UN press briefing from Ankara, Gutu said since the earthquakes, the organization had been on the ground in the affected provinces and working closely with the Presidency of Strategy and Budget and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to assess the situation.

“The FAO’s initial impact assessment report showed that the earthquakes had caused unimaginable devastation in 11 provinces, affecting 14.6 million people,” Gutu said.

“Those 11 provinces accounted for 20% of Türkiye’s agricultural production, 15% of its gross domestic product (GDP),18.7% of its agricultural and forestry exports and significant contributors to domestic consumption and export,” he added.

Gutu stressed the FAO was developing a framework to prioritize needs and provide immediate support in the four most affected provinces of Hatay, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya, plus two districts in Gaziantep to address those challenges.

He said in the medium to long term, the organization would shift its focus from response to proactively maintaining, restoring and improving the agri-food systems and rural livelihoods.

He added the FAO would promote innovative approaches and invest in technology and climate-smart agriculture to achieve this.