The Strategy of Utilize Unused Lands for Production Purposes in Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discuss the feasibility of the strategy to utilize unused lands for production purposes in Turkey and the effects of the land resources in Turkey on the implementation of the strategy. An unused (unproductive) land is a land that reduces the quality in terms of components that define a land, causes adverse conditions to affect the land use, and is not utilized for agricultural purposes within a crop rotation period of time. Published in the Official Gazette No. 30224 of 10/28/2017 and put into effect, the Year 2018 Program reads: "The utilization of unused agricultural lands for production purposes shall create models for the effective operation of agricultural farms". In addition, the sub-paragraph 11 on Policies and Measures, which are set out under the title of 5th Growth and Employment Strategy as a part of the 2019-2021 Medium Term Program in accordance with the Presidential Decree No. 108 of 9/20/2018, reads: "Organizational and legal infrastructure shall be established to utilize unused agricultural lands for production purposes." From this perspective, there is a need to reform the unplanned land use and the forms of property and use as it is one of the agricultural infrastructure problems in Turkey. The importance of introducing a system to give a true picture about the market of agricultural lands and making sure it is influenced less by other industries is self-evident. The land resources that Turkey currently has, challenges concerning those lands and agricultural structure make it difficult to execute the strategy. There are some major social, economic, legal and technical barriers to the achievement of the goals. This study offers recommendations on how to remove those barriers based on the figures of a study commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and analyzes the unused agricultural lands in Turkey and the possibilities to utilize them for production purposes. Agricultural lands are utilized for non-agricultural purposes, and the studies over how to utilize unused agricultural lands with conditions that reduce the quality of lands in terms of components that define a land point to a contradiction between what is intended and what is actual. Without making any land use plans, it is impossible for any effort of developing a land use strategy to be efficient.