This year, agricultural subsidies, including aid for rural development and animal husbandry included in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), are projected to total TL 4.58 billion, thus the government’s financial support for the agriculture industry is projected to increase by TL 1.31 billion next year.
The government’s program budgets TL 2.2 billion for field-based agricultural subsidies, which will include TL 106 million for organic agriculture, developing more productive and efficient agricultural methods and processing soil analyses. Another TL 555 million will subsidize diesel fuel for farmers, while TL 60 million will be earmarked for seed and sapling development, and TL 9 million will go towards environmental protection of farmland.
The government also plans to distribute TL 706 million to hazelnut producers, to be disbursed on a pro-rata basis depending on the size of their fields. In an attempt to promote the diversification of products, the government is debating allocating TL 8 million for tobacco and TL 41 million for hazelnut farmers.
The government’s plan budgets TL 1.82 billion for payments that serve to shore up the target price of a product when a difference between the target and market price of a product exists. For this agricultural encouragement, TL 1.06 billion will be set aside for unginned cotton, olive oil, soya beans, canola, safflower and sweet corn, TL 630 million for grains, TL 115 million for tea and TL 15 million for pulses.
For animal breeding, TL 1.25 billion will be allotted in 2010, an increase from its level of TL 1 billion this year. Subsidies for rural development will be TL 15 million, and the allotment for agricultural insurance payments will be TL 70 million.
The government will also allocate TL 11 million to fight potato wart, TL 65 million for tea harvesting costs and TL 76 million for all compensation payments. The remaining minor items will cost TL 44 million. The plan doesn’t envision providing any drought support next year.
Benzer Haberler 
National
