Reuters reported the farm-level crop changes and attributed the 2026 seed-cotton production figure to the Turkish Statistical Institute; that figure is a forecast, not a final harvest result. The Turkish State Meteorological Service independently records 2025 rainfall at 414.9 mm, 27.6% below the 573.4 mm long-term normal. Its climate report says this was the lowest annual precipitation in 61 years. Reuters reported that agriculture uses about 79% of Türkiye’s water and that the government had announced irrigation investment; the article does not treat a budget allocation as completed infrastructure or proven water savings. INCE NEWS did not conduct its own field interviews or visit the farms. Reuters photographs were available only under purchase licensing and were not reused. Both images are dated 2022 archive/context photographs from other parts of Türkiye, not images of the interviewed farmer, the 2025 drought or a 2026 crop decision. They are original Wikimedia Commons photographs by Zagor0063 and Özgür Esen, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The source JPEGs are retained in editorial-assets/source-originals/turkey-cotton-water-2026-11-09; derivatives were proportionally resized, converted to WebP and stripped of metadata, without crop or retouching. The derivatives remain under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution.
Correction: Nov. 9, 2026: The initial photo metadata listed outdated dimensions after the images were resized for publication. It now reflects the final 1,200 × 900 and 1,200 × 526 WebP files; the photographs, dates, licenses and story facts are unchanged.
Updated : Photo metadata corrected after publication. The final lead and inline derivatives are 1,200 × 900 and 1,200 × 526 pixels respectively; the source photos, dates, licenses and reported story facts are unchanged.
A crop switch after the dry year
Farmers in western Türkiye are shifting some cotton land to crops that need less irrigation after a severe dry spell tightened pressure on water supplies. Reuters reported on Nov. 9 that Mehmet Kabak, a 59-year-old grower near Söke, has moved part of his land from cotton to wheat and sunflower.
Kabak farms about 900 decares, or 90 hectares. The decision is local and practical: the replacement crops require less water than cotton in the conditions he faces. It does not mean that every grower can change crops or that the shift will restore depleted water systems.
A national forecast, not a final harvest
Türkiye’s statistical agency expects 2026 seed-cotton output to fall 38% from a year earlier to 1.2 million metric tonnes, Reuters reported. Seed cotton is the harvested crop before its lint and seeds are separated. The number is a government forecast; the final harvest tally has not yet been published.
In the Söke area, a local farming group told Reuters that cotton planting had fallen about 60% in 2026, to roughly 120,000 decares. That regional estimate and the national forecast measure different things, but both point to a difficult season for growers.
Water stress has a long record
The Turkish State Meteorological Service recorded 414.9 millimetres of rain in 2025, against a long-term normal of 573.4 mm — a 27.6% shortfall. The agency’s annual climate report says it was the country’s lowest annual precipitation in 61 years. The data describes 2025; it does not establish that every Turkish region remains in drought today.
Agriculture is especially exposed because it uses most of the country’s water. Reuters, citing government figures, reported that farming accounts for about 79% of national water use and that losses in irrigation infrastructure compound the strain. More efficient delivery and crop choices can reduce pressure, but neither works evenly without reliable infrastructure and access to capital.
Adaptation depends on delivery
The government has announced irrigation investment, but a stated allocation is not the same as a completed canal, a functioning system or water saved on a farm. Reuters’ reporting found that farmers and lenders see financing and technical support as barriers to larger changes, especially for growers unable to fund new equipment themselves.
As Türkiye prepares to host the U.N. climate summit COP31 in 2026, the near-term measure of adaptation will be whether support reaches farms before another dry season narrows their choices. For cotton growers, changing the crop can be one response; stable water management remains a wider public task.
Sources
5 references
- ReutersFarmers fight to adapt as droughts loom in COP31 host TurkeyOriginal reporting from farms and regional agriculture sources; the 2026 output figure is attributed to the Turkish Statistical Institute. · 2026-11-09
- Turkish State Meteorological ServiceState of the Climate in Türkiye in 2025Official annual rainfall totals and long-term normal, including the 27.6% shortfall. · 2026
- Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Water ManagementRisk management can replace crisis response to droughtOfficial context on basin drought planning and the government’s stated drought-management approach. · 2026-03-05
- Wikimedia CommonsPamuk Tarlası yeşil hali.jpg — photo and CC BY-SA 4.0 termsArchive/context image by Zagor0063; the file page identifies the creator, date, location and reuse licence. · 2022-08-15
- Wikimedia CommonsSulama kanalı 1 adana 2022.jpg — photo and CC BY-SA 4.0 termsArchive/context image by Özgür Esen; the file page identifies the creator, date, location and reuse licence. · 2022-11-14
