Agricultural Water Use in Turkey

Abstract

Agriculture is the largest user of water in Turkey with 75 percent of the total consumption. Turkey has developed 50 percent of total irrigable land so far. Water is a limiting factor for agriculture throughout much of Turkey. The amount and distribution of precipitation is quite uneven. Turkey, like many countries today, faces challenges in efficiently developing and managing its agricultural water resources while trying to protect water quality and the environment. However, Turkey has some difficulties and problems on water use for agriculture. Current institutional framework and legal regulation, monitoring and evaluation activities are investigated, and agricultural water use and irrigation development are studied. Problems with the lack of data on environmental effects of irrigation and water pricing are underlined. Evaluation of the current situation ends in the conclusion that Turkey needs a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system both at basin and scheme level, and rehabilitation of irrigation systems for efficient water use in agriculture.