President Böcek: "We have become a model for local development"
The "Antalya Cooperatives Meeting," organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Department of Agricultural Services, was held at the ASAT Meeting Hall. Speaking at the event, Mayor Muhittin Böcek emphasized that Antalya is an important city for agriculture and tourism sectors in Turkey, and stated that they have been working with the stakeholders of the industry to address the necessary agricultural initiatives as the Metropolitan Municipality. Mayor Böcek highlighted the significant steps taken to promote cooperatives, stating, "We have increased the number of cooperatives we support in Antalya to 53. We cover 80% of the energy costs of cooperatives. We allocated a budget of 80 million TL to support cooperatives this year. We have emphasized the importance of closed-loop irrigation systems, and we have established 20 closed-loop irrigation systems in 11 districts, with plans to open the 21st soon. We will use treated wastewater for agriculture in Beyiçsusuz Mahallesi of Korkuteli."
"We are number one in Turkey"
Mayor Muhittin Böcek stated that they rank first in Turkey with their local development model implemented by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, saying, "We support the agricultural sector in various aspects such as seedlings, seeds, water, electricity, seedlings, and fertilizers. Konya is larger than the Netherlands in terms of area. However, in agriculture, the Netherlands is far ahead of us. The Dutch government ranks first in supporting the agricultural sector. When our farmers did not receive support from the state, we took on the responsibility as the Metropolitan Municipality. We supported our farmers in the field. Now they say Antalya will experience its golden age. Will it be a golden age or an age of speculation?"
"I do not consider political views in service"
Highlighting that 50% of Turkey's greenhouse production is carried out in Antalya, Mayor Muhittin Böcek stressed the importance of being non-partisan in fertile lands, stating, "Politics are made during elections. However, we have seen that even in this period, politics is being done in agriculture. We must act impartially on fertile lands. Everyone has a political view. I have never considered political views while serving our people. In Antalya, Halk Ekmek (People's Bread) was privatized. We rebuilt Halk Ekmek Factory and sell bread to our people for 4.5 TL. We turned 5 tons of water into the price of a loaf of bread. Bread now costs 10 TL. We provided 50 tons of water for our breeders at the same price."
"Antalya has become a model"
Agricultural writer Ali Ekber Yıldırım noted that in previous periods, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality was taken as a model in cooperatives, but in this period, Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Muhittin Böcek surpassed İzmir and took the place of İzmir in local development model of Antalya. Ali Ekber Yıldırım said, "Mayor Böcek supported the agricultural sector on a system basis. He provided very important support. We saw and followed the supports such as milk tank, grape pressing machine, walnut cracking machine, energy support, irrigation support, seed, feed, seedling, fertilizer, pistachio suitable for every district. These supports made are in favor of the farmers. We say agriculture is more important than everything, we say it is as important as national defense, but it is not supported even one percent as much as national defense."
Cooperatives Dursun Yıldız, the President of the Water Policies Association, emphasized that the most dangerous event in the coming period is climate change, saying, "The climate crisis is fundamentally a water crisis. When water enters a crisis, everything is disrupted. Water is one of the indispensable sources of tourism and agriculture, such as Antalya. We must produce. We need many supports to produce, the most important of which is organizational support. The most basic form of organization is cooperatives. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has attached importance to local development and provides important support in cooperatives."
"It should be explained to Turkey"
The panel on "Agricultural Organization," moderated by economist-journalist Meliha Okur, included speeches by Nazif Alp, President of Antalya Chamber of Agriculture, journalist Ali Ekber Yıldırım, and Hüseyin Simav, Member of the Board of Directors of Antalya Commodity Exchange. The moderator of the meeting, Meliha Okur, emphasized that Antalya has created a very important model in rural development, and this model should be explained to the whole of Turkey for the development of the agricultural sector and the development of cooperatives.
"Important supports are provided"
Nazif Alp, President of the Antalya Chamber of Agriculture, stated that the most important demand of farmers is tax-free diesel, saying, "The country's development depends on agriculture. The producer should be supported in every area. The biggest input cost for farmers producing in coastal bands like us is diesel, fertilizer, and imported drugs. Daily wage rates start from 750 TL. Qualified personnel should be employed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is now done with knowledge and technology. Thanks to our Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, we provide very important support to our producers. Especially with the energy support given to cooperatives, cooperatives survive. The survival of cooperatives means production." The meeting was attended by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek, Antalya Chamber of Agriculture President Nazif Alp, economist-journalist Meliha Okur, Agricultural Writer Ali Ekber Yıldırım, President of the Water Policies Association Dursun Yılmaz, and representatives of cooperatives and sectors.
