Pesticides used in rice farming harm crops in 50+ acres of land in Turkey’s Bursa

Pelin Akdemir / Gazete Duvar

Agricultural pesticides used in rice production harmed crops grown in the vegetable fields of ten villages in the Karacabey Plain of Turkey’s Bursa province. The area was irrigated with water from Manyas Lake, which was contaminated with the pesticide runoff from the nearby rice farms.

These pesticides caused phytotoxicity (plant poisoning) on approximately 54 acres of vegetable farming land, leading to significant yield losses. The Chamber of Agriculture and farmers called for the provision of clean water, noting the severe damage caused by pesticide residues.

Phytotoxicity caused the leaves of plants to curl, the crops to dry up, and the plants to become stressed and die. Ten villages located within the Karadere Creek and Karacabey Irrigation Area where water from Manyas Lake mixed, were affected.

Ramazan Düzen, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Agriculture, said they conducted tests in Germany that detected pesticide residues in the irrigation water. 

He stated, "Since the pesticide companies have just received their licenses, nothing has changed. However, the current situation is dire. There are over 100,000 vegetable crops on 220,000 acres, all experiencing yield losses.”

However, local authorities did not recognize the test results obtained by the chamber because they were not conducted in Turkey. Düzen added that the technology to conduct these tests was not available in Turkey.

Düzen noted that this year's damage was substantial and highlighted the high input costs for vegetable farmers. "Where I should be getting eight tons of peppers, I am getting only four tons. Where ten tons of tomatoes should be harvested, only five tons are produced. Vegetable farming is a very costly business. Today, the cost for someone planting 25 acres of peppers is six million liras (181,000 dollars)," he said. Düzen suggested that a solution would be to pipe clean water from the Manyas Dam into the irrigation area instead of using water from the lake.

Nuri Dinç, the head of one of the impacted villages, said the “Facet” herbicide used in rice fields poisoned other plants, particularly tomatoes and peppers. He described how the leaves of tomato plants were curled, a condition known as “male flowering” in local terms, and farmers had to destroy their fields.

Dinç explained, "A person whose field is insured by TARSIM (agricultural insurance pool) will have to get a report on reduced productivity before destroying the field. If the fields are insured, you cannot just destroy them immediately.” 

He stated that in Sultaniye Village, 17-18 acres of pepper production were ruined. “The plain is currently in distress. The economic impact is very costly. We could grow our crops without using any pesticides, but due to phytotoxicity, we now have to buy additional pesticides. It now costs us five times more to cover a season’s worth of pesticides. "

Fevzi Çakmak, Chairman of the Bursa Branch of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, said the extent of phytotoxicity increased depending on the amount, concentration, and duration of the pesticide used. Çakmak emphasized the need for the Agriculture Ministry to conduct inspections, analyze the water, and take measures based on the effects of the pesticides in the water.

(English version by Ayşenaz Toptaş)