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18 February 2025

Deputy Director of Climate Change Orhan Solak participated as a speaker in the session titled “Sustainable Future: Climate, Water and Agriculture,” held as part of the 19th International Congress organized by the Turkish Flour Industrialists’ Federation.

Addressing the congress in Antalya, Solak said climate change is expected to affect water resources, agricultural land, crop yields, and livestock production, adding that the increasing frequency of drought and other extreme climate events could reduce harvest volumes and pose serious risks to food security, while noting that, in response, the Directorate of Climate Change has introduced a comprehensive set of measures including the prevention of food waste, the development of policies for irrigation management and efficient water use, the expansion of closed and pressurized irrigation systems, the improvement of irrigation efficiency, the determination of crop patterns aligned with basin-level water availability and drought resilience, and the reuse of return flows from agricultural activities.

Emphasizing that agriculture accounts for approximately 70 percent of sectoral water use worldwide, Solak stated, “In Türkiye, 77 percent of total water use occurs in the agricultural sector. Of the water used in agriculture, approximately 76 percent is supplied from surface water and 24 percent from groundwater. According to data from the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, surface irrigation methods are used in nearly 60 percent of irrigated areas, with water losses ranging between 35 and 60 percent. At the same time, overall irrigation efficiency remains at around 51 percent.”

The congress, attended by representatives of various institutions and organizations, concluded with a question-and-answer session.