23.11.2004

Farmers Pose a Problem for EU Accession

One third of all Turks live from farming – and this stands in the way of the country's accession to the EU. The sector must be modernized and the farmers must be better educated. But the price is high. By Cem Sey

photo: AP — In Turkey, modern farming equipment is still rare

Turkey is eager to join the European Union (EU). On December 17, 2004 the EU's heads of state and government will decide on the matter.

A "no" to negotiations on accession could strain relations with Turkey and trigger unforeseeable problems in the country itself.

On the other hand, a "yes" might ultimately lead to full membership for Turkey, a prospect which harbors enormous risks for both sides. One of these risks is the agricultural situation.

Tilling the soil with museum pieces

Just outside the Turkish capital of Ankara travelers feel as if they've stepped into a time machine. Farmers till their fields with implements which Europeans know only from museums. Plows are drawn by oxen, while wheat is reaped with sickles.

Turkish experts have calculated that the EU's agricultural productivity is 15 times that of Turkey.

Still further to the east the natural surroundings become more rugged and the level of education drops off. Here in the east of Turkey, where agriculture is virtually the only means of support, a lack of education is the farmers' undoing. They do not know how to irrigate a field properly, how to use pesticides or choose the right seed.

Many farmers cannot imagine their children having a future in farming.

Agroindustry and services

However, 33 percent of Turks live from agriculture. The EU is demanding that this statistic be reduced to six percent, that is, to the European average. This is only possible if Turkey develops an agroindustry or if the service sector is expanded. Both developments would require better education, which has yet to be achieved.

Still, Seyhmus Akbas, chairman of the industrial association in Diyarbakir, southwest Anatolia, is trying to make his region attractive for foreign investors. He promises "droves of unskilled, cheap workers." He feels that the area could turn into a Turkish Singapore.

Experts fear that the reforms required for the Anatolian agricultural sector could mean unemployment for millions of people. This, in turn, would increase emigration to the west.

Amount of EU financial aid unknown

The costs of these reforms are making heads ache in Brussels as well as in Ankara. EU experts estimate that it will take 2.3 billion euros per year to make Turkish farmers ready for EU accession.

The Turkish press has already reported an agreement with the EU along these lines. The Turkish government's recently announced "National Agricultural Development Project" is supposed to receive financial support from Brussels.

The level of EU financial aid for this project is not yet known. All that is known is that the project to stimulate the standard of living, housing construction, infrastructure, agrarian reform and the expansion of the irrigation system is supposed to be launched in 2005.

The government in Ankara is counting heavily on the positive effects of a "yes" by the EU. Then, the Turkish capital hopes, foreign investors will start pouring into the country.

Cem Sey

Translation from German: Isabel Cole