Agriculture and Water Issue in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Between 2007 and 2015, the arable land surface of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus increased from 66.1 % to 84.2% . However, currently only 59.6% of the total agricultural land is used for economic purposes, while only 8.7% can be irrigated. Agricultural areas (109,447 ha) used for economic purposes are listed below.

The fact that an area corresponding to more than 88% of agricultural land use is reserved for grain and legumes produced for livestock shows the importance given to animal husbandry.

Considering the irrigated lands, approximately 39% of the total irrigated land consists of citrus fruits , 40% of other fruits , 17% of vegetables and greenhouse cultivation , 2% of vineyards and 2% of legumes .

Precipitation, which forms the basis of water resources, is one of the most important factors determining agricultural productivity. In the Famagusta Region, most of the arable lands contain seasonal plants (grain, dried legumes, green fodder and industrial plants) irrigated with rain water. On the other hand, the Güzelyurt Region, where agricultural activities are most intense on the island, together with the Mesarya Region, receives the lowest annual precipitation. (average 264-300 mm/year between 1980-2010) Mesarya Region is also more impermeable due to the low water filtration of the soil and is not suitable for irrigated agriculture.

Especially in the last 5 years, the agricultural sector has low productivity per hectare due to unconscious production.

Irrigation is the most important factor affecting plant production in the country. As a result of unconscious irrigation continued for many years, the water resources have decreased and the salt level has increased in most of the existing water resources. In the last 15 years, although investment and government supports have been aimed at using drip irrigation more effectively, their effects on total production have not been much. The falling precipitation rate and the changing climate (temperature increase) have led to challenging new conditions in the industry.

‍ In order to overcome this, the Annual 75 million m3 Water Supply Project to the Country by Subsea Pipes, which started with the agreement signed with the Republic of Turkey in 2010, was completed in 2016 .

With the Pipeline Project, which was put into operation in 2016, 75 million m3/year of water is transported to the TRNC by pipes from the Alaköprü Dam on the Dragon Stream. With the realization of this project, 75 million m3/year of clean water has been added in addition to the low quality water of the TRNC, which is 110 million m3/year. With this project, more than two-thirds of the TRNC's existing water has been recovered.

If this additional water is used rationally, in a planned and efficient manner, it will not only meet the needs, but will also allow for the long-term improvement of the quality of groundwater, which is a seawater intrusion, by feeding it. The water accumulated in the Geçitköy Dam in TRNC will be released to the Güzelyurt Plain for agricultural irrigation purposes this year, with the completion of the ongoing tunnel construction.

Although agriculture has been among the most important sectors for many years in terms of employment and contribution to the gross national product in the country's economy, its importance and contribution has started to decrease with the education and tourism sectors that have developed in recent years. Namely, while the agriculture sector represented 38% of the total employment in 1980, this rate decreased to 4.1% in 2015. While the contribution of agriculture to total employment was 20.6% in the Republic of Turkey in the same year, it was determined as 3.1% in the Greek Cypriot Administration. Likewise, the contribution of agriculture to the gross national product in 2015 was 6.4% .

When the import and export data of the country are analyzed, it is seen that the total exports in 2015 were 118.1 million dollars and the imports were 1.5 billion dollars (Exports to imports coverage ratio: 7.8). Despite the negativities in recent years, agriculture is the sector that makes the highest contribution (65.7%) to exports due to the insufficient development of the country in other sectors.

When the agricultural sub-sectors are analyzed in terms of contribution to exports, dairy products take the first place with 49.4 million dollars, followed by citrus (19.1 million dollars), potatoes (4.7 million dollars), concentrated orange juice (2.9 million dollars). dollars) and vegetables (1.4 million dollars). However, when it is considered that barley and forage crops, which are used in the production of dairy products that make the highest contribution to exports, have an import of 96.6 million dollars in 2014 and 33.2 million dollars in 2015, it is seen that the livestock sector has a lump sum as well as a return and the sector is not well planned.

Due to the ongoing trade restrictions due to the political situation, most of the products exported from the country are distributed to Turkey or to other countries via Turkey. In 2015, products exported to Turkey constituted 64.5% of total exports.

When the distribution of the production area among the producers is examined, it is seen that the majority of the 13,459 registered agricultural enterprises are family farms (only 78 registered companies), according to the data of 2016, and 63.34% (8,526 units) of them are plant production enterprises. The actual number of producers in the sector is 11,097 as some producers are also engaged in crop production, animal breeding, poultry breeding and beekeeping. When the average size of the farms where crop production is examined, it is seen that the average number per farm is 7.5 hectares in dry agricultural lands and 0.7 hectares in irrigated agricultural lands (citrus and vegetables).

Due to the inheritance system, the ownership of both irrigated and dry agricultural lands is gradually divided and the lands are getting smaller. Considering the crop production farm size distribution, it is seen that 41.5% of the crop production enterprises are between 0-1.8 ha and 45.7% of them are between 1.8-15 ha . On the other hand, 40.73% of agricultural farm owners are under the age of 50, and about 60% are older than 50. This causes an inadequacy in the rural population in terms of age. The market infrastructure in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is quite limited. The main reasons for this are; political situation in the country (embargoes on trade) low efficiency, low quality and lack of certificates.

• Trade embargoes imposed on the country.
• The salinization of the water resources in the country and the decrease in the amount of water to levels that will cause “drought”.
• Making the production in the country (whether with the target of the domestic or foreign market) unplanned, without market research and cost calculation. The fact that the producers are less inclined to receive support in this direction, but at the same time the public or private institutions / organizations to receive support in this direction are insufficient and there is no legal regulation in this direction.
• Foreign dependency and high cost of agricultural inputs.
• The fact that the majority of registered producers in the country are not “real” producers and that their primary source of income is not agriculture. Lack of specialization in production.
• Production areas per producer are far from being economical and competitive. However, the yield is low compared to countries with similar climates.
• The fact that the number of certified products and manufacturers in the country is very low. The fact that the products produced are faced with serious question marks in terms of food safety and that the people who recommend plant protection products are also those who market these products.
• The lack of serious studies on which products can be grown in which regions in the country, their economic return and competitiveness.
• Confidence in domestic products is low, citizens are unconscious of domestic product consumption, and the products produced are not presented to tourists visiting the country at the desired level.
• Producer supports by the state are not made fairly and are unplanned. The fact that these supports do not increase the gap between producers and encourage quality and marketable products.
• Insufficient development of the agricultural industry.
• Lack of Law of State.

• Producers should be defined and registered; producers with very small production areas unite to act as a cooperative/company or producer group; By providing professional support to the manufacturers, the awareness of the manufacturers and the creation of the right product pattern should be ensured. This product pattern should be determined with the principle of "Market first, then produce" by acting in line with the demands in the domestic and foreign markets.
• The clumsiness and blockages in the state cadres should be removed; existing personnel should be specialized and used effectively in production areas; The existing deficiencies in the laws and the system should be eliminated and self-employed agricultural engineers should be active in the field.
• The plant pattern should be reshaped in order to ensure sustainability in agriculture and to effectively manage the water resources in the country together with the water coming from the Republic of Turkey; Focus should be on products with high added value and competitive in the international market, provided that priority is given to the country's needs.
• Emphasis should be placed on cultivating niche products identified with Cyprus such as potatoes, artichokes, citrus fruits, olives, carobs, which are suitable for the country's conditions and have climatic advantages, and products such as figs, almonds, walnuts, lettuce, eggplant and cauliflower with high Water Usage Efficiency. The necessary consultancy services should be provided for the production of these products and the production and marketing of quality products should be ensured. In production planning, the producer should be guided by taking into account the country's needs and the market. In government incentives; Marketable, quality and certified products should be given priority.
• Agricultural industry should be given importance. In order to develop the agricultural industry, the competitiveness of the producers should be increased by encouraging companies and/or cooperatives to be formed by the producers.
• In addition to ensuring traceability and control of every product produced with the target of domestic and foreign markets, a database that can access the information of products produced in the country online should be established in order to eliminate the causes of excess or shortage that cause great harm to the country's economy. With this database, instant production and needs in the country should be monitored, and producers should be able to plan accordingly.
• Instead of arbitrary practices and controls in the current system, it will truly ensure and sustain food safety; A traceable control system from farm to fork should be established, which will restore consumers' trust in domestic products (Modified GLOBAL GAP). In this way, while protecting the health of producers, the environment and consumers, trust in products and access to foreign markets can be facilitated.
• In order to determine and prevent the extinction of the existing agricultural gene resources in the country, necessary scientific research should be carried out and these gene resources should be protected, thus contributing to the country's economy by making the right use of natural riches.

Let's come to the water issue;

As of June 2016, the water transferred from the TR to the TRNC by pipes within the scope of water supply has started to be offered to the municipalities as drinking and utility water. In addition, it is aimed to protect and improve the aquifers by stopping water withdrawal from drinking and utility water wells in the regions where the water reaches.