Reaping the benefits of fallow borderland
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 29, 2009 00:00
MARDİN, ŞANLIURFA, KİLİS - Plans to clear landmines from land along Turkey’s Syrian border have raised hopes for locals who see the fertile land as a path to riches, while others argue leasing the land to agricultural corporations will prove more beneficial economically.
The wide stretch of land along the border has been littered with landmines since the Cold War when the border separating NATO-member Turkey and Soviet-aligned Syria was one of the frontlines in that war.
Later in the 1990s landmines were laid in the same area in an attempt to prevent infiltration by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, who were given refuge in Syria.
Since a thaw in relations between the two countries, authorities have focused on clearing landmines on both sides of the border to make use of the land that has not been tilled for around 50 years. However, de-mining efforts have led to debate on several fronts.
Most of the civil society organizations located in the area argue that the approximately 215,000 decares of land should be given or sold to the local population in small portions.
Others disagree, arguing that this particular method will not contribute to the expected added value to Turkey’s agricultural production and the land should be farmed by the big players in the private sector with international experience and modern techniques in agriculture.
Halil Dolap, president of the Şanlıurfa Chamber of Agriculture, said it was important that the clearing of the landmines be a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, or GAP, a major state-run project to improve agricultural infrastructure in the underdeveloped southeastern region of the country. Dolap said employment could be created for area locals, and can be put under the control of the Agriculture Ministry. He also said he was not against foreign companies operating there if they employ locals.
"These lands have been idle for many years; they are first class agricultural lands. Syria started to use its land at the border for agriculture before us. We should benefit from this too. The area’s climate is suitable for growing every type of crop," Dolap said and also indicated that it was unimportant who will clear the landmines, whether it is Israel, Germany, the United States or the Netherlands.Bedirhan Dinler, president of Kızıltepe District Chamber of Agriculture, also said the decision to de-mine the land and open it to agriculture has come quite late and he said that the land should be given to the local population at zero cost. Dinler said there are many proposed measures in the region for increasing employment and said this move would be the answer to unemployment.
"We are against the land being given to big corporations. There are very poor families in the villages; they can be provided an income this way," Dinler said and suggested the land should be divided among poor families in portions of 50 acres. Dinler also said this would prevent domestic migration from the area to the big cities.
’Economic value should
be considered’
Mehmet Özçiloğlu, president of the acting board of Kilis Chamber of Commerce, said the clearing of the mines was very important in an economic sense.
Özçiloğlu said he was against the land being divided into too many portions as that would reduce the economic benefit that can be obtained. He said he stood behind the idea of the land being allocated to the firm that undertakes clearing the mines, under the condition that it engages in organic agriculture. Özçiloğlu said they are against the land being allocated to foreign companies. "Our domestic establishments too can practice organic agriculture in the area successfully," he said. Malik Özkan, president of Mardin Chamber of Commerce, said although farmers in the area have big plots of land, agricultural production is below the desired level for modern agricultural techniques are not being practiced.
Özkan also said dividing the land into small plots was not a good idea. "These lands should be run by international firms that will implement modern agricultural techniques. It does not matter which country or which firm," he said.
Later in the 1990s landmines were laid in the same area in an attempt to prevent infiltration by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, who were given refuge in Syria.
Since a thaw in relations between the two countries, authorities have focused on clearing landmines on both sides of the border to make use of the land that has not been tilled for around 50 years. However, de-mining efforts have led to debate on several fronts.
Most of the civil society organizations located in the area argue that the approximately 215,000 decares of land should be given or sold to the local population in small portions.
Others disagree, arguing that this particular method will not contribute to the expected added value to Turkey’s agricultural production and the land should be farmed by the big players in the private sector with international experience and modern techniques in agriculture.
Halil Dolap, president of the Şanlıurfa Chamber of Agriculture, said it was important that the clearing of the landmines be a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, or GAP, a major state-run project to improve agricultural infrastructure in the underdeveloped southeastern region of the country. Dolap said employment could be created for area locals, and can be put under the control of the Agriculture Ministry. He also said he was not against foreign companies operating there if they employ locals.
"These lands have been idle for many years; they are first class agricultural lands. Syria started to use its land at the border for agriculture before us. We should benefit from this too. The area’s climate is suitable for growing every type of crop," Dolap said and also indicated that it was unimportant who will clear the landmines, whether it is Israel, Germany, the United States or the Netherlands.Bedirhan Dinler, president of Kızıltepe District Chamber of Agriculture, also said the decision to de-mine the land and open it to agriculture has come quite late and he said that the land should be given to the local population at zero cost. Dinler said there are many proposed measures in the region for increasing employment and said this move would be the answer to unemployment.
"We are against the land being given to big corporations. There are very poor families in the villages; they can be provided an income this way," Dinler said and suggested the land should be divided among poor families in portions of 50 acres. Dinler also said this would prevent domestic migration from the area to the big cities.
’Economic value should
be considered’
Mehmet Özçiloğlu, president of the acting board of Kilis Chamber of Commerce, said the clearing of the mines was very important in an economic sense.
Özçiloğlu said he was against the land being divided into too many portions as that would reduce the economic benefit that can be obtained. He said he stood behind the idea of the land being allocated to the firm that undertakes clearing the mines, under the condition that it engages in organic agriculture. Özçiloğlu said they are against the land being allocated to foreign companies. "Our domestic establishments too can practice organic agriculture in the area successfully," he said. Malik Özkan, president of Mardin Chamber of Commerce, said although farmers in the area have big plots of land, agricultural production is below the desired level for modern agricultural techniques are not being practiced.
Özkan also said dividing the land into small plots was not a good idea. "These lands should be run by international firms that will implement modern agricultural techniques. It does not matter which country or which firm," he said.