Introduction
The region affected by the earthquake is known as the Fertile Crescent and is critical for agricultural production, food industry and agricultural livelihoods. The region accounts for 14.5 percent of Türkiye’s total agricultural GDP.
The main agriculture products are cereals, undercover vegetables, olive, pistachio, citrus and industrial crops such as cotton. The region also plays an important role in the food processing and agrifood industry and exports significant quantities of fresh fruits, vegetables and processed food. In addition to grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit and fodder crops, these provinces are also the site of intensive sheep and goat farming.
Areas Affected by the Earthquakes
Two devastating earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye on 6 February. The epicentre of the quakes was located in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaras province and affected the neighbouring provinces of Adiyaman, Elazig, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, as well as Adana, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa, where around 15.6 million people reside, including approximately 1.7 million Syrian refugees.
Although the resulting damage to the agriculture sector has not yet been assessed, earthquakes can and have caused loss or injury to rural life, loss of crop yields and livestock, food stocks and valuable agricultural inputs, and damage or destruction to irrigation systems and networks, as well as stock tanks and farm and ranch buildings. The disaster has also destroyed markets and infrastructure, including roads and crucial irrigation and drainage canals. As a result, internal trade, including the movement of emergency assistance, is severely constrained.