Neurobiologist / Founder of Localvore Biotechnology
"As agricultural production is threatened by the effects of the climate crisis, it is vital for food security that young people engage with the land."
Title:
OUR FUTURE GROWS IN THE SOIL
The extreme cold wave experienced over the past week has caused severe frost events across almost all of Turkey. Vegetables froze in Antalya, apricots froze in Malatya, and wheat fields suffered massive damage in Eastern Anatolia. And these are just a few examples — I could list countless others.
This major disaster has had, and will continue to have, widespread and negative impacts on
this year's crops — and even next year's food supply. A single day of frost can affect agricultural productivity for up to two years. And this is just one incident. Drought, wildfires, extreme and sudden rainfall, unbearable heat… All of these bring the sustainability of agriculture — and consequently food production — into constant debate and urgent action.
All of these issues fall under the umbrella of "Food Security."
Food security is defined as the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This is the FAO’s precise definition.
Food security, especially in the face of the deepening climate crisis, has already become the defining issue for the future of humanity. It’s the ultimate priority.
I'm certain that forward-looking R&D studies, strategic action plans, and even a Turkey Food Security Risk Map can and should be developed. A decline in the availability of core staple foods poses a serious threat to Turkey’s future. That is why it is critical that we immediately take action — increasing agricultural land, integrating more technology into farming, strengthening agricultural funding mechanisms, monitoring financial support, and, as I always emphasize, moving toward value-added agricultural production.
But we often talk without acting — and the real action needs to come from youth in the fields.
Without young people touching the soil, our existence in the future is at risk.
Let me share one last striking statistic. It shows the proportion of people employed in agriculture compared to the total population since the founding of our Republic:
🇹🇷 Agricultural Employment as a Percentage of Turkey’s Population:
- 1927 → 80%
- 1950 → 75%
- 1960 → 77%
- 1970 → 67%
- 1980 → 50.6%
- 1990 → 46%
- 2000 → 36%
- 2010 → 23.3%
- 2020 → 17.7%
- 2023 → 14.7%
Look how far we've come. Just imagine the productive strength of those early years.
Given the devastating impacts of the climate crisis on agriculture, we need young people on the front lines of this national struggle. The already-weary farmer cannot fight this battle alone.
YOUTH and AGRICULTURE: This is today’s most CRITICAL and STRATEGIC issue.
