They are not with the farmer, they are after him!

Ziraat Bank , whose field of activity is defined as "meeting the financing needs of the agricultural sector", has been criticized for moving away from its goal of supporting farmers over the years. The interest income provided by the bank from agricultural and farmer support loans in 2024 reached 211.4 billion lira. Farmer loans under close monitoring, which were 7.7 billion lira in the previous period, reached 24.7 billion lira.

Producers all over the country are struggling with the effects of the climate crisis and resisting production despite increasing costs. The 2024 Activity Report published by Ziraat Bank, the largest credit gateway for farmers, revealed the agricultural debt crisis.

According to the bank's 2024 financial statements, the total loan volume reached 2 trillion 607.3 billion liras. 26.8 percent of the bank's total loan volume consisted of agricultural farmer support loans. Of every 100 liras of loans provided by Ziraat, 73.2 liras were loans provided to non-agricultural areas. This once again revealed that the bank, which was established to provide financing for agriculture, has strayed from its goal.

Agricultural loans, which were 475.4 billion lira in 2023, grew by 47.2 percent in 2024 and reached 699.9 billion lira.

DEBTS CANNOT BE PAID

The activity report also revealed that farmers are experiencing payment difficulties. The amount of loans that the bank closely monitored in 2024 reached 223.6 billion liras. Farmer support loans constituted 11.1 percent of the loans under close monitoring. Agricultural loans under close monitoring, which were 7.7 billion liras in 2023, were calculated as 24.7 billion liras at the end of 2024. The one-year increase in agricultural loans under close monitoring was 220.9 percent.

INTEREST RATE INCREASED BY 199 PERCENT

As farmers’ indebtedness increased, the interest income provided by the bank from loans also grew. Ziraat Bank’s interest income from agricultural loans in 2024, which was 70.7 billion TL in the same period last year, reached 211.4 billion TL. The interest income obtained by the bank from agricultural loans, which offers producers suitable low-interest ‘credit support’, grew by 199 percent in one year. The share of agricultural loans in the bank’s total interest income, which was 16.5 percent in 2023, reached 22.3 percent.