Rains boost Türkiye’s grain output but hurt fruit, vegetable quality
Şevval Aydoğan-ISTANBUL
Increased rainfall driven by climate change has created mixed outcomes for Türkiye’s agricultural sector, damaging the quality of fruits and vegetables while boosting grain production after years of drought.
Heavy rains led to quality losses in fruit and vegetable crops and caused rust disease in some cereal fields. At the same time, precipitation helped revive many grain crops that had been affected by prolonged dry conditions, raising expectations of significant yield increases. In some regions, wheat and barley output is expected to rise by more than 100 percent compared with last year.
Climate change, which has generally weighed on agricultural productivity and pushed food prices higher, has this time generated optimism for improved harvests in certain crops. Following two years marked by severe drought, favorable rainfall this season has driven expectations of higher grain yields.
