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Food and Agriculture

Ağrı to be center for the industry based on food and agriculture in TurkeyThe Agricultural area constitutes 31.7% of the total area in the province. Although 47.7% of the agricultural area is irrigable, only 5% of these lands are irrigated. In Agri province, where the agricultural area corresponds to 44.45% of the total agricultural area in the TRA2 Region, the agricultural area is 361.000 hectares. The share of meadows and pastures is high in land use in Ağrı. 36% of the meadow and pasture area of ​​the region is within the boundaries of Ağrı. With a ratio of 48%, the ratio of meadows and pastures is almost 2,5 bigger than the average of Turkey (18,7%). This gives opportunities to make heavily stockbreeding in meadows.

Organic agriculture has been still developing in the province. According to the data obtained from the Ağrı Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, organic farming is carried out in 314.401 decares area and 88.609 tons of product is acquired annually. It is aimed that these products are certified and sold under the name of organic products and that the use of certified seed is expanded.

In order to improve agriculture and stockbreeding, 52 villages and 503,750 decares were consolidated in Ağrı and 1.660.833,77 TL has been paid for the damages between 2012-2017. When the land consolidation project is completed, 182.440 decares of land will be opened for irrigation.

Ağrı has had many strengths in food and agriculture and in the industry depending on these fields. These are;Excess of young populationExcess of pastures and meadowsHigh agricultural and livestock potentialSugar beet cultivationHigh beekeeping capacityHaving suitable land for organic farmingHaving high water potentialBeing rich in medicinal and aromatic (endemic) plants (capers, canola, gulik, çaşır)Having caves with natural cold storesMoreover, Ağrı province has many opportunities in this area;

Having plenty of agricultural areasFinding the potential of organic agriculture suitable for industry and exportThe development potential of agriculture-based industryLand reform lawFacilitating the process of establishment of cooperativesIn this context, the investments to be made in the province of Ağrı; Wheat Feed CropsAccording to the data obtained from the Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in 2017, there are 352 thousand cattle and 1.4 million small cattle in Ağrı. Feed crops have mainly two consumption area. They are used to meet the coarse feed need of the animals in long lasting winter months and as raw material for the production of concentrate feed in feed factories. Now, 1 feed factory is active in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı. All of the feed crops grown in Ağrı are consumed within the province and ready feed, feed corps and straw are also intensively provided from outside the province. Although the climate conditions of the province and the absence of large single-part lands create negative effects on feed crops growing, generally feed crop growing in Ağrı come to the forefront as a suitable investment area. Recently, the investments made in the irrigation infrastructure of Patnos, Ağrı and Eleşkirt Plains have increased the yield in feed crop growing.

Production of Agricultural Machine68% of the land that can be treated in the province is field and these lands are suitable for mechanization thanks to their nature. The incentives within the framework of incentive measures up to 50% lead the farmers to buy agricultural machines. Because the agricultural equipment brought from out of the region is sold by the dealers, it shows the demand to produce product in the province is sufficient. Thus, 1 trailer manufacturer which is active in the province employs approximately 20 people and markets a large part of its production within the province. One of the reasons of the decrease in the share of agricultural employment in the total employment in the province may be to supportive programs for agricultural machines and the diffusion of mechanization in agricultural practices. While this condition positively affects the social and cultural environment factor in relation with the sector, it also creates a market for businesses operating in this field.





Mixed Feed Production FacilityIn addition to the big increases in the production capacity of mixed feed production in our country, the increase in the use of feed, which is the most important input of the businesses in the stockbreeding activities in our region, has expanded the market in the sector. In addition to the use of highly productive races to increase productivity in livestock raising, it is required to meet the feed needs of animals in a sufficient and balanced way.



There are 2 special feed factories in the province and they produce cattle, sheep and poultry feed. Poultry feed is mostly consumed in chicken farms owned by companies. Cattle feed is mostly consumed in the province but also sold to the neighbor provinces. A large part of the need of farmers for the quality mixed feed in the province is supplied from the out of the region. Due to the transportation costs, the cost of feed brought from the out oft the region is higher than the feed produced in the region.



Because the region is rich in pasture and meadow and has a tendency to grow feed crops and there are many irrigable lands, this creates an opportunity to supply raw materials.

Mixed feed is an important practice that guarantees the yield for feeding animals in winter. Recently, the businesses which are active in stockbreeding and making big-scaled investments within the scope of DAP have a tendency to increase the awareness and be active silage feed.



In our region, it is a problem to have insufficient feed resources due to the harsh winter conditions and not to have required yield in stockbreeding. It is known that the interest in mixed feed has been increased instead of the straw and fodder which do not make any contribution to the animals in the newly established modern businesses.

TKDK and comprehensive supportive programs of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are practices in order to develop primary agricultural activities and agriculture based industry in the province.



Cube Sugar ProductionAğrı Sugar Factory, which operates in Ağrı, has a great potential for supplying raw material which is required for the cube sugar production. Two cube sugar factories which are active in the province meet most of its raw material need from Ağrı and commercialize their products in the province.



Because the production cost of cube sugar is low, it is possible to make more profit by increasing the product range. Most of the cube sugar consumed in the province are brought from Erzurum and Van.

Geothermal GreenhouseAgriculture based Businesses (Greenhouse) Organized Industrial Area is established by using geothermal resources on 1300 decares in Diyadin district. It is currently making production on ​​40 decares land. The greenhouse is heated by geothermal water resources which is obtained from 250m depth and is 78 °C and has a flow rate of 100 lt/sec.