Farmer's tears: 'I have never experienced a period like this in 20 years'

CHP Niğde Deputy and TBMM Agriculture , Forestry and Rural Affairs Commission Member Ömer Fethi Gürer listened to the concerns of producers and citizens at the Hacı Bektaş district market in Nevşehir.

Neşe Kaya, explaining her current situation to CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer, said, "Everyone is bankrupt. Some are selling their motorcycles, some are selling their cars, some are selling their houses, some are in debt and selling their dowries. I see it with my own eyes. If I'm in this situation, if I'm crying, everyone is crying. What will I do if I can't pay 600,000 lira? I'm going to sell my tractor here. I have one motorcycle, and it's gone. Why? The other side has taken a promissory note. In that village, I'm going to sell my tractor so I don't tarnish my name. Why would I sell it? I've become a respected and beloved figure in the community. I'm not going to be held accountable and told, 'Pay me back.' I'll starve, and I'll sell it so I don't feel ashamed."

"WHETHER YOU ARE AKP OR CHP, EVERYONE WOULD THINK ABOUT THE FARMER A LITTLE BIT"

"I've been a farmer for almost 20 years," Kaya said, "I've never experienced a time like this. We were in this situation when we sold potatoes for 1 lira. I'm not criticizing anyone. I mean, whether you're the AKP or the CHP, you have to think about farmers. Farmers are truly in a difficult situation. If we're finished, everyone is finished, and the country is finished. The country will never recover. Do you know how many years it won't work? It won't take five or six years for this farmer to recover."

Farmer Neşe Kaya told CHP MP Ömer Fethi Gürer that not only are farmers doomed, but so are citizens. Kaya stated that they are doomed as farmers, expressing her pain at what she sees, saying, "Citizens come and say, 'Give me 20 lira less. I'm raising an orphaned grandchild, and his father died.' I swear to God, they're begging. I'm crying because I'm helpless. I mean, I'm crying because of our situation. Even though I'm in a bad situation, I gave that woman that 20 lira, just for the sake of it. I want to share food with people. Why shouldn't I share my half of a loaf of bread?"

"THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO, SOCIETIES THAT DON'T PRODUCE AND ARE LEFT WITHOUT FOOD BECOME THE COLONIAL OF OTHERS"

CHP Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer also said the following:

We're at the Hacı Bektaş market. Because their purchasing power has shrunk, citizens can't buy everything they want. They're complaining about the prices. A fellow farmer, selling their own produce at the market but explaining the problems they face during production, is sharing his troubles. He says he's finished as farmers. He says he'll quit farming. He says he can't pay off his loan debt, in addition to the rise in input costs. We're calling out to the authorities. We're witnessing the process firsthand. We're witnessing what's happening, and we say: This isn't a one-size-fits-all situation. Societies that don't produce and are left without food become colonies of others. So, come and support our farmers. Listen to this voice. Wipe away these tears. Reduce input costs. The support we'll provide for fertilizer, pesticide, seed, diesel, and water prices is the support that will save Türkiye's future. Protect the producers. Prevent exorbitant prices from rising on the shelves by narrowing the middlemen's reach. The troubled middlemen who produce and consume will not compromise on profits.

"I AM THE BIGGEST FARMER IN THE VILLAGE. IF I CAN FINISH, EVERYONE CAN FINISH"

Farmer Neşe Kaya said, "If I used to farm 100 acres, I reduced it to 20, and I've finished all 20 acres. Why? I can't afford it, I can't pay the electricity bill. My child is working, but believe me, he can't even afford to eat. Farming is over from now on, man. If I'm done, the small farmer is even more so. The truth is, I can't sleep, I can't sleep, thinking I'll be the village machinist for that person. Our elders don't think about that. I'll starve, farming will be over. Then they should relax. Who will they buy from? Will they import or buy from others? That's their problem. We're finished." Kaya, stating that citizens don't have the money and don't buy products even if they're cheap, reacted by saying, "Why can't people buy them? People don't have the money. Whether we say 10 or 5, people don't have a penny in their pockets. The government will really change. I have friends in the AKP, even they say it's finished. Why? People can't buy them; it's become harder to make ends meet. I planted potatoes, but I couldn't sell them for 3 lira. There's diesel, planting, and fertilizer, but what am I going to eat? Not to mention paying for water and electricity. I have five children and three grandchildren. I'm here, where can I go? I'm the biggest farmer in the village. If I can make ends meet, everyone can. I'm quitting farming."

"WE CAN'T BUY THE FRUIT, WE CAN ONLY TASTE THE FRUIT"

A citizen in the marketplace said, "Let me say it once more: Ballot boxes, ballot boxes, ballot boxes! We're tired of this government. We can't buy the fruit; we can only taste it." Another producer summarized the farmers' situation with these words:

"The villagers' products are worthless. Everyone should hear it. Turkey should hear it. The outside world should hear it. The president should hear it, the members of parliament should hear it. Let them see this nation. We can't buy fertilizer, we can't tend our vegetables, we can't buy diesel. What would these city dwellers eat without the villagers, sir? What would they eat? We grow our own. The water has been cut off, the wells are gone. Most of the people's wells have been cut off. These things mean money. Without these things, what will this president eat? What will these members of parliament eat? Without these things?"

CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer stated that when he spoke with producers, he found no one saying, "I'm happy." Producers complained, "We produced, but we can't sell," "I couldn't sell my product for what it was worth," or "I have debt." While citizens complained, "We can't buy as much as we'd like; we're in a very difficult situation." Gürer said, "Despite being a domestic product, market prices haven't dropped. Some people have to buy fruit by the piece because they can't afford it anymore. Some have even never tasted different fruits."

Odatv.com