Country has dealt with one of the driest seasons in recent years.
“October was one of the most arid beginnings for agricultural production in recent years,” said
?emsi Bayraktar, president of Agriculturalists Association of Turkey (TZOB). “Rainfall dropped in October by 58.3% compared to the yearly average and 75.3% compared to the same month of 2015. The rain volume dropped to 20.5 mm in October from around 83 mm last year.”
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, rainfall in Turkey’s Mediterranean region fell by 90.6% in October compared to last year, while in the Central Anatolia region it fell 89%, in the Aegean region it fell 85.6%, in the Southeast Anatolia region it fell 67.6%, in the Marmara region it fell 58.4% and in the East Anatolia region it fell 49%. Only the Black Sea region saw an increase in rainfall, which was around 86% higher than the yearly average in October.
“Weather conditions in November and afterward will be of great importance,” Bayraktar said. “If it rains at seasonal averages, we will not face a drought. We will, however, see huge yield losses in our grain production if it does not rain more in November and December.”
