Q&A

HOW BAD IS FOOD WASTE IN TURKEY?

In developed countries, 56% of food is wasted while in developing countries it is 44%. Of four billion tonnes of food produced annually, only 2.7 billion is consumed in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1.3 billion tonnes are wasted or lost. This corresponds to around USD 1tr. If one-quarter of this food is saved, 821 million hungry people can be fed. Nearly 25-30% of fruits and vegetables go to waste without reaching consumers in Turkey. 39% of food waste occurs at the producer level while 5% is at retailers, 14% in the food sector and 42% at the household level.

Around 26 billion tonnes of food is wasted in Turkey, according to the FAO. This amounts to nearly TRY 224bn. Turkey ranks third among countries in the world with the highest food waste per capita at 93 kilograms/year. People mainly focus on food waste but saving water must be the primary agenda. Turkey is a water poor country. Annual per capita water amounts to 1,347 cubic meters (m3), when in excess 5,000 m3 is needed. Annual precipitation has averaged 547 millimeters for many years. This is insufficient for favorable agricultural production.

HOW DO SETBACKS AND POOR MANAGEMENT ‘FROM FIELD TO FORK’ AFFECT PRICES?

Traditional agricultural production in Turkey consumes 73% of water resources, while manufacturing consumes 11% and household consumption amounts to 16%. 85% of agricultural production consists of plant production. 68.5 million tonnes is generated by cereals, 31.5 million tons is created by vegetables and 23.5 million tonnes are fruits. The annual per capita production value in the agricultural sector averages USD 16,730 in the world but only USD 10,922 in Turkey. I.e., agricultural productivity is 34% below the world average. Losses in processes in addition to the unproductiveness in croplands adversely affect price formation.

WHAT ARE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TURKEY IN ORGANIC FARMING?

Organic farming was started in 1986 in Turkey in line with importer companies’ demand. The total area under organic farming amounts to 70 million hectares in the world and 500,000 hectares in Turkey. The market size totals USD 100bn in the world and USD 180m in Turkey. The number of producers total 3 billion in the world and 75,000 in Turkey. Annual per capita consumption amounts to USD 13 globally and USD 2.5 in Turkey. However, only 7% of organic products imported by Europe is supplied by Turkey. Exports, which started with eight products in 1986, are up to 235 products today. Turkey is the 6th largest organic product exporter to the European countries at 211 tonnes.

NECDET BUZBAS,

WHAT’S OUR SITUATION IN TERMS OF STAPLE FOODS?

The FAO has developed a methodology called Global Food Security Index (GFSI) in collaboration with international institutions and universities. Countries’ food security is analyzed based on three criteria set during the World Food Summit in 1996: Availability, affordability, quality and safety. Turkey ranks 48th with 70.1 average points. In addition to the pandemic, food access in Turkey has become difficult when you take into consideration around 10 million absolute poor people. Half of household income is allocated to food expenses.

WHAT COURSE WILL FOOD INFLATION ˷29%˸ FOLLOW IN THE UPCOMING PERIOD?

Other categories in the basket couldn’t stop the 10.08% increase in August in fresh vegetable and fruit prices. Severe drought, severe flooding and rainfall, forest fires are mentioned but I doubt they are properly evalusated. The fundamental reasons for food inflation should be discussed in detail and radical and sustainable solutions should be developed. The increase in food prices has an impact on the consumer price index as it has the highest share by 25.94% in terms of expenditure groups in the basket. But it is unfair to say that the main item increasing inflation stems from the price hike in food. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are followed by transportation at 15.49% and housing by 15.36%, respectively. The high cost of living is people’s main problem, i.e., their income is below inflation.

WHICH STEPS WOULD YOU TAKE FOR AFFORDA˹ BLE, HEALTHY, AND QUALIFIED NUTRITION IN TURKEY IF YOU HAD THE POWER?

Even solving the above issues to minimize the impact of food inflation on headline inflation and ensure its continuity may not be enough. All processes should be evaluated, managed, and supervised to supply safe food to consumers.

Hunger couldn’t be prevented due to abundance brought by industrial agriculture, improper storage and transportation conditions, overurbanization, global climate change, factors distorting competition arising from insufficient measures, lack in equal distribution (800 million people struggle with hunger today in the world). The existing system isn’t sustainable. Agriculture and food production is a strategic sector for a countries’ survival as it directly relates to public health. The majority of developing countries ignore agriculture and choose manufacturing. Today, 80% of global food production comes down to eight industrialized countries. To be a powerful state means to achieve food independence. We’re seeing signs at the beginning of the 21st century of a new agricultural revolution. The number of people working in agriculture is decreasing while biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technologies are being used intensely and efficiently in agriculture. Industry 4.0 is also used for agriculture. We’re also seeing a rise in the green economy, in which technology-intensive and environmentally-friendly green energy is used. Turkey has always caught the last wagon of the train when it comes to radical changes, including the industrial revolution. We have to form a system that combines the rich geography we have with our current rich intellectual capital assets. Here are four primary goals for this system:

►Sustainability: It should protect natural resources, minimize adverse environmental impacts, be resilient against shocks.

►Efficiency: High productivity with environmentally-friendly technologies, sufficient production, minimization of waste.

►Access to nutritious and healthy products: High amount of nutrients, priority and diversification of quality product, safety, ease of local supply (an area covering 150 kilometers).

►Comprehensiveness: Comprehensiveness in economic and social protection that considers disadvantaged groups and leaves no one behind. This can be started under the leadership of the government with appointment of a competent Deputy Minister to be assigned only for this issue.