A farmer set his body on fire in Ziraat Bank in Nevşehir Turkey

It is reported that a farmer from Nevşehir’s Derinkuyu* district known as a potato producer set fire to his body inside the local state owned Ziraat Bank branch is treated for the burns on his body in hospital.

According to Anka Agency’s report, potato producer living in Yazıcı town of Derinkuyu district of Nevşehir. According to the allegation, he came to the Derinkuyu Branch of Ziraat Bank in the morning and requested the restructuring of his debt to the bank. The loan restructuring request was rejected by the bank officers. He poured the gas can that he brought with him and set himself on fire. Police and medical teams were dispatched to the branch after the security personnel in the bank intervened to extinguish the fire and informed the authorities. With burns on his body he was referred to Nevşehir and received treatment.

Opposition CHP Nevşehir Province Chairperson Kamil Gülmez said that potato producers were left desperate and said, “This is the situation that the AKP government brought upon the farmers.” Gülmez reminded that the electricity bills of potato producers used in irrigation were postponed by previous political parties that were in power. After the privitisation, Medas company was given the electricity distribution, who asked the producers to pay all their previous debts.

Gülmez said, “The producers with good economic conditions paid their debts, those who did not could not. The electricity administration put an asset freeze on the fields of those who could not pay. Most of our farmers' fields in the Nevşehir region are currently put on frozen assets. These fields can neither be sold nor transferred. Also, this year, potato prices are going to 45 pence as a base, and can be sold for 70 pence price cap. It costs 90 pence; of course, the producer can’t handle this, can’t pay its debts and constantly borrows. The debts are transferred to the next year, of course the interest is getting on for every year, and the debt of the producers grows like a snowball.”

* City, in Central Anatolia.