farmland in the plain of Konya, under the shock of the drought for months due to insufficient rainfall, were flooded this time due to heavy rain and snowmelt on mountains.
The central province of Konya is at the heart of Agriculture for the country with its large agricultural land used for grow wheat crops for decades. However, the vast Konya Plain that is home to these farmlands was going through a troubling time. times with the lack of precipitation in these last years. In the plain known as “the breadbasket of Turkey”, 1 million tons of yield loss has been experienced in harvesting wheat and barley in 2020 and 2021 due to drought. In October, another problem came to the fore this time, with rainfall exceeding forecast in the region.
agricultural fields in the district of Söğütözü of Konya filled with water to cause melting snow in mountains and plains. Farmers, who had a hard time to cause drought, are now complaining of heavy rains.
“Our cultures are dying. A channel should be opened here and water should be collected in the pond. Our farmers also undergo a great loss,” said Mehmet Erçiftçi, the mukhtar of Söğütözü district.
“The municipality takes care with the issue but a channel must be opened here and the water must be drained out,” he added.
Noting that cultures in flooded fields were damaged, Erçiftçi said: “About 100 acres of Earth in our region was flooded. Many of these areas have submerged land.”
Another farmer, Mehmet Koçak, said: “When it snows a lot, water from the mountains collects here every year. Sometimes houses are also flooded.”
Pointing out that such heavy snowfalls are not seen every yearKoçak added crops planted are wasted because of heavy snowfall.
Fahri Can, a resident, said farmers whose crops are under water are suffering. “We want our grievances are addressed,” he said.
