Agricultural Reform Deputy Director Mehmet Kilci: Agricultural Support Budget Set at 135 Billion TL for 2025

The 10th Sustainable Food Summit, organized by the Turkish Food Industry Employers' Union (TÜGİS) and the Sustainability Academy, attracted attention with its distinguished guests and agenda, bringing together all stakeholders in the food sector. The summit addressed many important topics, ranging from food economics to innovation, artificial intelligence, and regenerative agriculture. Speaking at the summit, Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Reform Mehmet Kilci talked about financing supports for agriculture, stating that the agricultural support budget, projected to be 91.5 billion TL in 2024, is expected to increase to 135 billion TL for 2025. Kaan Sidar, Chairman of TÜGİS, made statements to the press after the summit, emphasizing, "Implementing sustainability at every stage of the food chain, from farm to table, is vital for future generations' access to a safe and fair food system."

The Sustainable Food Summit, held this year for the 10th time with the theme "Transformation for the Future of Food," took place in Istanbul with a large audience aimed at developing a common vision and strategy for redesigning the food chain. The opening speech of the summit, which took place on November 21-22 in collaboration with TÜGİS and the Sustainability Academy, was delivered by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır.

Names from bureaucracy, academia, finance, business, and media came together at the summit. During the two-day event, speakers included Murat Ülker, Board Member of Yıldız Holding and Chairman of pladis and Godiva; Sezai Cibelik, Deputy General Manager of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; Mehmet Kilci, Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Reform; Şeref Oğuz, Chairman of the Editorial Board of NB Ekonomi Newspaper; Prof. Dr. Vural Gökmen, Faculty Member at Hacettepe University; Ebru Akdağ, Chair of the Derivative Association; Prof. Dr. Yeşim Ekinci from the Food Engineering Department at Yeditepe University; Dr. Ayşegül Selışık, Deputy Representative of FAO in Turkey; and Prof. Dr. Nevzat Artık from Ankara University’s Food Engineering Department, also a member of TÜGİS Scientific Board.

Food supply security was a priority topic at the summit. During the session titled "New Era in Agriculture - Agricultural Production Planning," Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Reform Mehmet Kilci pointed out that factors such as economic, social, and environmental developments, global climate change, water scarcity, increasing population, and urbanization are heightening the importance of food supply security. Kilci emphasized that an effective planning process enabling the optimal use of natural resources is essential for ensuring food supply security. He noted that measures would be implemented to determine which products or product groups will be produced on an agricultural basin or enterprise basis, to safeguard supply security for strategic products, and to establish minimum and maximum production volumes according to national needs.

Regarding agricultural support budgets, Kilci mentioned, "To encourage the implementation of 'Agricultural Production Planning' and facilitate its acceptance among producers, we have aligned agricultural supports, including subsidized loans and rural development grant programs. The agricultural support budget, which is projected to be 91.5 billion TL in 2024, is expected to be 135 billion TL for 2025. Similarly, we consider subsidized loans an important tool for financing agriculture. Therefore, our producers who produce in accordance with the production plan benefit from a 20% interest rate discount. Both supports and loans are significant tools not only to meet farmers' financial needs but also to incentivize production planning. Furthermore, important regulations have been enacted to develop and promote contract farming. Model contracts have been prepared and published based on production topics to protect the rights of the parties, and a mediation system specific to contract farming has been activated by the Ministry of Justice to resolve disputes quickly and effectively."

In his remarks after the Sustainable Food Summit, TÜGİS Chairman Kaan Sidar called for shared responsibility for sustainable food, stating, "At this year’s 10th summit, we discussed how food systems can be designed for sufficient food production to feed the world's population despite limited resources and the impacts of the climate crisis, in cooperation with representatives from the food ecosystem. Esteemed speakers emphasized that 'food' is more than a consumer product; it is one of the cornerstones of community health, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability. Ensuring sustainability at every stage of the food chain, from farm to table, is vital for future generations' access to a safe and fair food system. As TÜGİS, with our mission to lead this transformation, we will continue our efforts without slowing down to increase collaborations in the industry and develop innovative solutions." Sidar concluded his remarks by thanking all the speakers, participants, and everyone involved who contributed to the value of the Sustainable Food Summit.