STORY: Türkiye's summer wheat harvest hampered by severe drought
DATELINE: July 19, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:03
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECONOMY
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of combine harvesters working in the field in Türkiye
2. SOUNDBITE (Turkish): CEMAL POLAT, Head of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Tekirdag Branch
 
STORYLINE:
 
Halim Orta, a wheat farmer in the Thrace region, one of the granaries of Türkiye, had high hopes for the summer harvest when he sowed seeds in October last year.
 
But the yield fell far short of expectations due to the severe drought that had badly affected agriculture throughout Türkiye.
 
"The average wheat crop this year in my field dipped by about 20 percent due to uneven rainfall and dry season in general," Orta told Xinhua.
 
Farmers planted wheat on nearly 4.5 million hectares of land in the region, mainly in Edirne, Kirklareli and Tekirdag provinces, to meet around 15 percent of domestic wheat needs.
 
"The lack of precipitation, water stress, and agricultural drought suppressed the germination, emergence, and tillering of wheat crops," Orta explained.
 
SOUNDBITE (Turkish): CEMAL POLAT, Head of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers Tekirdag Branch
"The traditional agricultural products planted in our region are sunflower, wheat and canola."
 
Polat confirmed that there were massive challenges in this year's wheat harvest. He pointed out that the region is also facing drinking water shortages this year while population and industrial activities have been on the rise.
 
He warned that such a decline in wheat yield would haunt the area more often if authorities do not conduct production and climate studies, nor come up with effective solutions to cope with the changes.
 
Polat believes this year's bleak harvest would definitely increase Türkiye's import of wheat-based products.
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)