TÜRKIYE / FAO EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye on 6 February 2023, farmers and rural communities in the country urgently need assistance: labor losses and fertilizer shortages have halted agricultural and livestock activities, posing a significant threat to the upcoming summer harvest.

Assessments by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) suggest significant disruptions to crop and livestock production capacity in Türkiye's earthquake-affected areas. Preliminary estimates indicate $1.3 billion in damage and $5.1 billion in losses to the agriculture sector. 

In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye on 6 February 2023, farmers and rural communities in the country urgently need assistance: labor losses and fertilizer shortages have halted agricultural and livestock activities, posing a significant threat to the upcoming summer harvest.

Assessments by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) suggest significant disruptions to crop and livestock production capacity in Türkiye's earthquake-affected areas. Preliminary estimates indicate $1.3 billion in damage and $5.1 billion in losses to the agriculture sector. 

55 year-old Mesut Özer, farmer from Gaziantep Nurdağı close to the border with Syria saw his house and agricultural equipment damaged by the earthquake. Mesut is currently living in a tent with his family. He cultivates fruits and vegetables and needs fertilizer and equipment to continue producing before the season passes.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Mesut Özer, farmer: “It's beet planting time now. There is a shortage of fertilizer right now. There is a problem in the supply of fertilizer. We were thinking of planting before the rains came. Now fertilizers are coming in batches. Fertilizer suppliers do not give us clear answers, so there is some fertilizer shortage”.

Agricultural equipment, greenhouses, irrigation systems, and storage facilities have been damaged or destroyed in rural communities. 

56 year-old Atiye Sönmez Erdoğdu, president of a women cooperative in the Southern Türkiye’s Samandağ explained that the cooperative building was heavily damaged by the earthquake. Some members of the cooperative died during the quake, while others were displaced. As a consequence the cooperative cannot resume its activities as the summer harvest approaches.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Atiye Sönmez Erdoğdu, president of Samandağ Women's Initiative Business Cooperative: “We worked hard to create our cooperative. Now it has been destroyed. Our building was heavily damaged, and 90 per cent of our products were damaged. Because the containers were made of glass, the products are now unusable. 90 percent of our stock is wasted. The women here left the country because of the housing problem. Therefore we cannot start production”.

The earthquakes severely impacted nearly 15.7 million people in 11 key agricultural provinces in Türkiye.  More than one-third of the population in these hardest-hit provinces live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their livelihood.  Known as Türkiye’s “fertile crescent”, the earthquake-affected region accounts for around 20 percent of the country’s agricultural production, nearly 15 percent of agricultural GDP, and contributes to almost 20 percent of the country's agrifood exports.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ayşegül Selışık, FAO’s Head of Programme in Türkiye: “The tractors where we are now are under rubble. Livestock were trapped under rubble. The stables were destroyed. At the moment, the first [and most pressing] need our farmers have voiced seems to be fertilizer. But soon they will need agricultural workers in addition to fertilizers”. 

FAO urgently requires $112 million to deliver immediate and longer-term recovery support to earthquake-affected rural communities in Türkiye. Together with the government, other United Nations agencies and local partners, FAO is responding to the immediate urgent needs by providing cash, rehabilitating damaged household infrastructure, distributing livestock feed and providing agricultural inputs. 

SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ayşegül Selışık, FAO’s Head of Programme in Türkiye: “In such a situation in Türkiye, we have a role to play in ensuring the continuity of the agricultural sector and food systems. Other organizations also have a role. So that life in the countryside continues as before. So that our people can continue on their way without falling into despair. Our efforts will continue here”.

With deadlines for preparation, planting, and harvesting approaching, time-sensitive seasonal support is crucial to restore food production in Türkiye. Providing seasonal inputs to farmers at this critical stage will help prevent a national food access and availability crisis and mitigate soaring food prices.

FAO’s priority in both Türkiye and Syria is to ensure that the most affected rural communities can sustain and recover basic food production, while supporting local authorities to assess agricultural damage and needs at a wider scale.

STORY: TÜRKIYE / FAO EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

TRT: 2’:35’’

SOURCE: FAO

RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN

LANGUAGE: TURKISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 MARCH 2023, SAMANDAĞ, HATAY, TÜRKIYE / RECENT

SHOTLIST

14 MARCH 2023, SAMANDAĞ, HATAY, TÜRKIYE

1. Tracking shot of houses damaged by earthquake

8 MARCH 2023, NURDAĞI, GAZIANTEP, TÜRKIYE

2. Pan left, damaged silos 

3. Wide shot, FAO staff assessing damages caused by the earthquake

4. Pan left, cows in a courtyard 

5. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Mesut Özer, farmer: “It's beet planting time now. There is a shortage of fertilizer right now. There is a problem in the supply of fertilizer. We were thinking of planting before the rains came. Now fertilizers are coming in batches. Fertilizer suppliers do not give us clear answers, so there is some fertilizer shortage”.

14 MARCH 2023, SAMANDAĞ, HATAY, TÜRKIYE

6. Wide shot, FAO vehicle arriving 

7. Med-shot, Ayşegül Selışık (camera left), FAO’s Head of Programme in Türkiye, talking with Atiye Sönmez Erdoğdu (camera right), president of Samandağ Women's Initiative Business Cooperative

8. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Atiye Sönmez Erdoğdu, president of Samandağ Women's Initiative Business Cooperative: “We worked hard to create our cooperative. Now it has been destroyed. Our building was heavily damaged, and 90 per cent of our products were damaged. Because the containers were made of glass, the products are now unusable. 90 percent of our stock is wasted. The women here left the country because of the housing problem. Therefore we cannot start production”.

8 MARCH 2023, NURDAĞI, GAZIANTEP, TÜRKIYE

9. Pan right, damaged tractors in the rubble

10. Med-shot, cow lying down amidst rubble 

14 MARCH 2023, SAMANDAĞ, HATAY, TÜRKIYE

11. Med-shot, Ayşegül Selışık (camera left), FAO’s Head of Programme in Türkiye, talking with a farmer

12. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Türkiye: “The tractors where we are now are under rubble. Livestock were trapped under rubble. The stables were destroyed. At the moment, the first [and most pressing] need our farmers have voiced seems to be fertilizer. But soon they will need agricultural workers in addition to fertilizers”. 

8 MARCH 2023, NURDAĞI, GAZIANTEP, TÜRKIYE

13. Wide shot, FAO staff assessing damages caused by the earthquake

14 MARCH 2023, SAMANDAĞ, HATAY, TÜRKIYE

14. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ayşegül Selışık, FAO’s Head of Programme in Türkiye: “In such a situation in Türkiye, we have a role to play in ensuring the continuity of the agricultural sector and food systems. Other organizations also have a role. So that life in the countryside continues as before. So that our people can continue on their way without falling into despair. Our efforts will continue here”.

15. Various tracking shot of damaged buildings