Due to drought, the yield of sugar beets has decreased.

In Kırıkkale, insufficient rainfall has led to a loss of yield in sugar beet production. Farmers have stated that drought is becoming an increasingly significant threat.

The drought experienced in Kırıkkale is also negatively affecting agricultural production. The depletion of water resources has particularly caused a loss of yield in sugar beet production. Farmers in the village of Efendi, located in the Keskin district, are experiencing a loss of yield during the sugar beet harvest. Farmers producing sugar beets in the district have reported a 30% loss of yield.

“Yield has dropped by 30%”

Hasan Kargın, the village head of Efendi, stated in an interview with İHA that he has never seen such a drought in his 40 years of farming. Explaining that the yield of sugar beets has dropped due to insufficient rainfall, Kargın said, “I have been farming for 40 years, and we have been planting beets for 35 years. Recently, the weather has been very hot. Since there has been no rainfall, the yield has dropped by 30%. The laborer’s daily wage ranges between 2,000 and 2,500 lira. I cannot even cover my own daily wage. We are trying, but the conditions have led to this. We are currently continuing our profession.”

“Drought is worse this year”

Farmer Murat Kargın expressed that the drought has increased this year, stating, “The rainfall this year is much less compared to last year. Drought is worse this year. We have felt this in every crop. Barley, wheat, sunflower, especially sugar beet thrives on water. Of course, due to the drought, we are irrigating the sugar beets from the creek. We have agricultural irrigation. This increases costs. When costs rise, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. This year has been very dry. The waters in Öz Stream here have dried up, and our yield has been very low. We have experienced a loss of about 3 tons per acre.”

“Sugar beet cannot grow without water”

Farmer Ramazan Oruk emphasized that drought is increasing every year, stating, “Drought is increasing year by year. Each year makes us long for the previous one. Sugar beet cannot grow without water. The more water you provide to sugar beets, the higher the yield. Every unit of water means one ton of sugar beet. This water is not sufficient. The creek’s water is not flowing like it did in previous years.”