Turkey Plans New Incentives to Attract Youth Back to Farming

The Turkish government is launching a major initiative to encourage young people who are neither in education nor employment to return to rural areas and take up farming, as the agricultural population continues to age and the ratio of young farmers remains alarmingly low.

A Rural Revival Strategy

During the latest Economic Coordination Board (EKK) meeting, officials discussed new measures to revitalize rural communities by empowering young citizens to engage in agriculture. Key proposals included:

• Free land allocations

• Low-interest agricultural loans

• Support for rural home ownership

• Incentives for agricultural production

Turning Idle Lands into Opportunity

According to Türkiye Gazetesi, relevant ministries have been tasked with developing concrete policy suggestions to make returning to villages more attractive. The overarching goals are to:

• Encourage youth entrepreneurship in agriculture

• Revive underused rural land

• Strengthen domestic food production capacity

Implementation of the plan is expected to begin in the near term, with a focus on turning unused land into productive farmland and enabling self-sufficient rural economies led by a new generation of farmers.