Erdoğan unveils new loans, grants for farmers

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a sweeping set of new financial measures to support Turkish farmers, including loans for greenhouse projects and increased grants for agricultural development.

"We are supporting our producers who want to establish greenhouses to grow vegetables and fruits with a new loan package," Erdoğan said during a speech in Istanbul on June 28.

The initiative, launched in collaboration with the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and the state-owned Ziraat Bank, will offer loans of up to 10 million Turkish Liras for greenhouse investments under 10 decares.

The loans will have a maturity of up to 10 years and include a one-year grace period for principal payments. Equity requirements will be reduced to 10 percent for young and female farmers, down from the standard 20 percent.

In addition to the loan package, Erdoğan announced that 10.2 billion liras in grants will be distributed this year across 7,160 projects focusing on the processing, packaging, storage and irrigation of agricultural products.

Farmers engaged in cattle and dairy farming will be eligible for investment loans of up to 5 million liras to expand their operations, without any equity requirement. These loans will also feature a one-year grace period and a total term of up to seven years.

Small-scale livestock producers will also benefit, as Erdoğan said the loan limit for small cattle breeders would be doubled from 600,000 liras to 1.2 million liras.

Erdoğan noted that over 90 percent of all agricultural loans in Türkiye —equivalent to 653 billion liras — are subsidized by the state. “As a state, we stand by those who work, produce, export, invest and create employment with all our means, and we will continue to do so,” he said.

In a broader assessment of Türkiye’s agricultural capacity, Erdoğan stated that the country produces 206 different agricultural products and is self-sufficient in many of them.

He cited global rankings, saying Türkiye is fourth worldwide in fruit and vegetable production, 11th in overall plant production, and in the top three globally for 21 products. He added that Türkiye ranks first in Europe for beef, chicken, and egg production, and is second in Europe and 16th globally in aquaculture.

Addressing criticism from opposition parties, Erdoğan said the widespread use of agricultural credit is a sign of investment and growth, not financial distress.

"The return rate on agricultural loans is 97 percent, and it reaches 99 percent for those provided by Ziraat Bank," he said, rejecting claims of widespread farmer bankruptcies.

He added that the government has so far paid 84 billion liras to farmers in 2025 and expects that number to rise to 135 billion liras by the end of the year.

Erdoğan also accused the opposition of misrepresenting the country’s progress. "Years pass, actors change, but nothing changes in the opposition’s mentality," he said. "They distort the numbers and create a storm in a glass of water."