The Situation of Livestock Activities in the Earthquake Region After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

Abstract

In Turkey, two devastating earthquakes with magnitudes Mw=7.7 and Mw=7.6 in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023, had significant negative effects on the livestock fattenings of the region. It was announced that 8,241 bovines, 64,260 ovines and 42,000 poultry died in the region, and 533,000 chicks died in Adıyaman and 168,000 chicks in Malatya. It was determined that the total loss was at the level of 602.5 million TL (31.9 million dollars). To breeders; 1 billion 372 million TL feed support, 5.804 bovines, 43.317 ovines, 549.000 poultry and 26.318 beehives were provided. While there were no significant changes in the number of bovines in the earthquake region, the reduce in the number of ovines in the leading provinces in terms of the presence of ovines compared to the pre-earthquake period is as follows; It was determined as 102,000 in Şanlıurfa, 107,000 in Adana, 74,000 in Elazığ, 61,000 in Kahramanmaraş and 15,000 in Diyarbakır. In broiler breeding, there was a decrease of 13.57% in Hatay, 11.68% in Kilis, and 9.40% in Malatya. In laying hen breeding respectively there was a decrease of 21.21% in Diyarbakır, 15.65% in Hatay, 15,49% in Kilis, and %8,64 in Osmaniye. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) tried to prevent losses in livestock and withdrawal from breeding with cash and in-kind aid. In the future, it is vital for the sustainable livestock activities of the region that investments, loans and incentive packages in the earthquake zone are among the priority policies of the Ministry.