KIZILTEPE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

In order to improve Mardin's Agricultural Production and make it a value-added for its producers, Mardin Agriculture Platform was created to improve cooperation between public institutions and organizations, private sector, non-governmental organizations, universities and local governments in the province and to direct relevant institutions and organizations.. The first meeting of the platform was held under the hosting of Kızıltepe Rations Association.

Hatip ÇELİK, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mardin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mehmet ŞAHIN, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kızıltepe Commodity Exchange, and Asst. Chairman of the Kızıltepe Chamber of Commerce and Industry. İbrahim Halil Ramazanoğlu, Nusaybin Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council Member Şükrü Akbal, Mardin Nasır Duyan, Deputy Chairman of the Organized Industrial Zone, Bereket AKAN, President of the Artuklu Chamber of Agriculture, Bedirhan Dinler, President of the Kiziltepe Chamber of Agriculture, Faruk Temelli President of the Derik Chamber of Agriculture, Savur President of the Chamber of Agriculture Cengiz Yıldız, Co-President of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Erdal Damar, Co-President of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Fatma Irmak, President of the Kiziltepe Association of Agricultural Producers M.Şerif Öter, President of Mardin Bulgur wheat Industrialists' Association Faysal Sun, President of Mardin Pasta Industrialists' Group Şükrü Karaboğa, Mikail Erbeyi, President of the Mardin Farmers Association, President of the Southeastern Corn Producers Association.M.Hanifi Müslümoglu, Marova flour AŞ .General Manager Salim İlhan participated the meeting.

At the meeting, the working procedures and principles of the platform were discussed and it was decided to address the following issues as a priority.

TMO Prices: The announced TMO prices have increased by 10% compared to last year. In the current situation, agricultural input prices have increased by 50%-100% compared to last year. In order for producers to survive; in order to prevent unfair competition and opportunism, TMO agricultural purchase prices should be revised quickly compared to costs. October pays 45-day payment termini to the farmers and it should be ensured that the duration of this term is given to the farmer who delivers his product within the same week. In this context, platform representatives will meet with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

DEDAŞ Power Outages and Corn production: Corn is produced as a strategic product. The price of corn in international markets has increased by about 39% from $ 190 to $ 265 per ton. In addition, corn, which is produced as the first product in Batman and Diyarbakır in our region, has been abandoned and October has been oriented to cotton and wheat due to last year's prices. It is possible to prevent supply contraction caused by low prices and production in Egypt only by continuing production in Mardin and Urfa, which produce as a second product. the corn harvest produced as the second crop in Mardin in 2023 amounted to two million.

Recently, DEDAŞ has announced that it will cut off electricity to farmers who produce corn. in 2023, the TMO gave a price of 6000 TL per ton. Egypt creates 12 billion TL of added value according to these prices. The blocking of corn production by power outages will lead to a serious decrease in the prosperity of Mardin. The delay of the GAP irrigation canal should not be treated as if it were the fault of the Mardin farmers, and this decision taken by DEDAŞ should be withdrawn until the completion of the GAP water supply. In this context, platform representatives will meet with the Ministry of Energy. Completion of GAP Irrigation Canals: 1 of GAP Mardin Canal. The stage has been completed and opened for service. 2. It is expected that the stage will irrigate 835,000 acres of land in the Mardin Plain. In the current situation, irrigation carried out with groundwater causes our resources not to be used effectively. Our region is facing an extreme drought risk, especially on the last roads.

GAP irrigation channels need to be completed urgently to protect our region from precipitation risks. Well irrigation is carried out due to the late arrival of the GAP irrigation canal to the region. Electricity used for well irrigation constitutes the most important input cost for farmers. Many of the farmers have been forced to quit farming or mortgage their land due to these costs. In order to solve this problem, the GAP must be completed as soon as possible before the irrigation channel is put on hold. In order for agricultural production to continue in our province until it is completed, electricity up to a certain kilowatt should be subsidized or a special financial support program for the use of renewable energy sources in agricultural irrigation should be designed. DEDAŞ electricity distribution company is a private company. The electricity tariff used in agriculture is 150 TL / acre for corn irrigation in Çukurova and other regions where there are irrigation associations. The same energy support should be applied for Mardin, subsidized to the electricity distribution company if necessary. In the current situation, there is a difference in competitiveness between the farmers who receive the water reached by the channel and almost cost-free and the farmers who meet the water needs by drilling at very high costs, and the production appetite of Mardin farmers is decaying. In this context, both the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be discussed.