Rising Credit Debt Pushes Farmers Towards Foreclosure

September 16, 2026 · Tarım Pusulası

CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer warned that producers' debt to banks has reached 1.5 trillion TL, leading to a rapid increase in tractor, land, and livestock foreclosures.

CHP Niğde Deputy and Member of the Grand National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Affairs Commission, Ömer Fethi Gürer, shared critical data regarding indebtedness and foreclosure proceedings in the agricultural sector. According to Gürer's statements, producers' total debt to banks alone has reached 1 trillion 500 billion TL. Gürer stated that agricultural loan debt has increased 230-fold in the last 20 years, while the rise in non-performing loans in default during the same period has reached 125-fold, emphasizing that the difficulty in repayment has reached a critical threshold.

Reminding of the law enacted in 1936 under the instruction of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which prevents the seizure of farmers' production tools and animals, Gürer argued that this rule has not been effectively applied recently. According to the disclosed data, in the past September alone, 67 tractors and 6,757 plots of land were put up for auction. Stating that livestock seizures are also ongoing, Gürer reported that following the sale of Malta goats in Çerkezköy, Tekirdağ, 32 goats were put up for auction in Vize, Kırklareli in September for 320,000 TL.

Ömer Fethi Gürer pointed out that small family-type businesses whose tractors, land, or animals are seized are forced to withdraw from agriculture, warning that barns are emptying. Gürer stated that the liquidation of producers could lead to serious food supply crises in the future and recalled the legislative proposal they previously submitted to parliament. Gürer demanded an immediate halt to foreclosure and auction proceedings, a postponement of existing debts, and additional credit support for producers for the sustainability of agricultural production.

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