Natural disasters, including floods, excessive rainfall, hail, storms and frost, damaged nearly 900,000 hectares of agricultural land across Türkiye during the first six months of 2026, the head of the Union of Turkish Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB) said, warning that the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather are placing growing pressure on agricultural production.
In a statement evaluating the impact of natural disasters on farming during the first half of the year, TZOB Chair Şemsi Bayraktar said producers in more than 70 provinces had been affected and stressed that the damage extends beyond agriculture, with consequences for the country's food supply and rural economy.
Bayraktar said the number and intensity of natural disasters have increased in both Türkiye and around the world in recent years. Citing a report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he noted that the average annual cost of natural disasters to the global agricultural sector has risen from $64 billion in the 1990s to $144 billion in recent years.
He added that natural disasters caused an estimated $3.26 trillion in agricultural losses worldwide between 1991 and 2023, damaging 4.6 billion tons of cereals, 2.8 billion tons of fruit and vegetables, and 900 million tons of meat and dairy products over the past 3 decades.
