Miller Magazine Issue: 140 August 2021

69 ARTICLE MILLER / august 2021 lems of the regional industrialists are drought, raw ma- terial supply and increasing prices. In fact, the purpose of the meeting was to cooperate with the public sector regarding the supply of raw materials and to eliminate this process without causing much damage in both the domestic and foreign markets. At the meeting; public representatives, industrialists, wheat traders, farmers, shortly, all stakeholders of the sector came together with great interest and tried to find solutions to the problems. “By looking at by the at- mosphere and the messages given at the meeting, we will try to get through these difficult times unscathed by joining forces with the state while achieving our goal within the framework of the law,” said Mesut Çakmak, President of the Southeast Anatolian Flour Industrial- ists' Association. Çakmak, who pointed out that the main problem in agriculture is the slivered structure of lands and the scarcity of wetlands, says that a country- wide land reform is a must. I can say that with the Mardin meeting that took place in challenging times, the regional industrial- ists and producers have felt the support of the gov- ernment. Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President İsmail Gülle, TMO President Ahmet Güldal, General Directorate officials at TMO, TİM and Export Office, association members and prominent pasta and flour industrialists of the region have attended the meeting. While it was emphasized in the panel that the yield loss was around 30% in general, it was reminded that the decrease in wheat planting caused severe prob- lems and adequacy problems broke out. NEW PRODUCTION MODELS ARE NEEDED GUSAD Honorary President Erhan Özmen said that Turkey's wheat need is 18 million tons, wheat cultivation area is 7.2 million hectares and wheat production was 17 million tons in the 20/21 harvest period. Stating that the total flour, pasta and bulgur exports were 6.6 million tons in 2020, and the wheat import was 9.75 million tons, Özmen noted that in order to increase wheat production, initiatives should be taken to direct the farmer to plant wheat again. He warned that otherwise, the cultivation areas may shrink even more. He also emphasized that 2 million hectares of uncultivated lands should be brought into production in order to increase wheat cultivation and production, that new production models are needed for rural areas and irrigation investments should be com- pleted in regions threatened by climate change. “It is a small world. We are competitors of each other now. There is no point in being the flour export champion by selling the cheapest flour in the world. The period of