“The Blue Homeland”, “Turkey’s Century”, Agriculture in Africa and Erdogan’s Plan

My African Travels is a book of Emine Erdoğan’s travel diaries. Its current price is 56 TL. Those who buy it are also advised to purchase Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s book A Fairer World is Possible, which has a price tag of £34.90. This is a very realistic pricing. Africa is now more valuable than the dream of a just world for Turkey, dogma in favor of political Islam. In her meticulously written book, Emine Erdoğan describes the travels she made between 2014-2020 in 23 African countries, namely Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sudan, Chad, Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Zambia, Gambia, and Senegal. . Of course she didn’t go there alone, she was with her husband and on many errands. In fact, she is crying over the dramatic photos they showed her. It’s all real.

Of course, it is no coincidence that Amina and her husband made numerous trips to Africa. Erdogan and his party have long-term ambitions and plans for Africa. TRT and its derivatives are full of aid programs for Africa. They also rent suitable and fertile lands, which they discover when they provide assistance. These are all the advantages of this great plan.

Turkey’s move to lease land and farms in Africa with state assistance dates back to 2013, when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power. Under the ousted dictator Al-Bashir, who had close ties with Erdogan while he was in power, 500,000 hectares of land were leased for 99 years from the White Nile River in Sudan. In addition, a military base was established in an area ceded to Turkey for 99 years on Suakin Island. In 2013, ELSE group heads Seyfetin Kocak, Imam Altinbas and Kulek Oz started cotton production on 50,000 hectares leased for 25 years in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. They hired workers, mostly local residents, for $30 to $50 a month. Thanks to these chiefs from afar, the locals earned regular wages!

Of course, the Turkish presence in Africa is not limited to the agricultural sector. Construction, energy, education, health and culture sectors in particular are popular investment sectors. Especially transportation and infrastructure constructions are in the hands of Turkish businessmen. Government-guaranteed financing is provided and encouraged for companies investing in the region. It is said that Amina traveled, saw and agreed, and there is no room for hesitation.

But there is a plan

In 2014, an agreement was signed between Sudan and Turkey to increase agricultural production. The agreement was implemented in 2015. It was decided to establish a “pilot farm” on 12,500 hectares of land in Sudan. For this purpose, the “Sudan International Company for Agriculture and Livestock” was established, 80% of which is owned by TİGEM and 20% by Sudan. Things were going according to plan.

However, after he went a short distance in carrying out the agreement, it became clear that the lands to be cultivated were controlled by the local authorities or tribes, and not by the central government. There were villages in the lands where the agreement was made, and these villages did not know about the agreement. Part of the land was not suitable for cultivation. There were also security problems, clans and armed gangs demanding a tribute called “zakat”. [ισλαμικός ηθικώς υποχρεωτικός φόρος τιμής] of the companies that will enter the region. The worst thing is that if the zakat is not paid, the locals will try to take it by force. Thus, four million hectares of agricultural land remained idle.

The opposition parties to the government asked: “What will happen now?” In 2020, Erdogan attacked critics as ignorant. The purpose of leasing the land was to prepare for the demands of the next century. “Those who do not suffer from such a problem cannot understand why our country leases lands in Sudan and Niger. This immoral mentality appears in every case,” he added.

There were problems in Sudan, but there was a lot of land in the African country. Erdogan and his team’s frequent visits to Africa, business forums, meetings, and dozens of Turkish Airlines flights were for the same purpose.

According to World Trade Organization data, the United Kingdom, the United States and China are the countries that buy the most land from Africa. The UAE, Qatar, Russia, Japan, Israel and Turkey came at the bottom of the list. Labor is cheaper than water on the continent. There is a system similar to that of the Ottoman Empire, which admittedly makes things easier. In addition, there are also many minerals and oils. Countries like Congo and Sudan, which tend to sell and lease land, are generating interest in the continent. These countries either sell their lands or lease them for a hundred years. So much so that the Congo has leased 8.1 million hectares of agricultural land, a quarter of its area. In a sense, it gradually transferred sovereignty over its territory to the charter states. Tenants are now at the heart of Africa’s political, economic and social life.

“Mission Africa” ​​for Ankara

Turkey’s orientation towards African countries began with the inaugural “Action Plan for Africa” ​​drawn up in 1998. But this plan, which remained an idea, turned into a long-term work with the AKP government. Turkish companies and TİGEM have been leasing land for agricultural purposes in African countries since 2013. These countries include Sudan, Zambia, Ethiopia, Niger and Nigeria. However, the project was not implemented due to the coup and change of administration in Sudan. Then Türkiye leased land in Niger. Animal crops will be produced here. Progress is evident, albeit with very heavy and slow steps. TÜİK data shows that Turkey’s trade with the African continent increased from $4.3 billion in 2002 to about $22 billion in 2020.

These are signs that Türkiye has now established itself as a player on the continent. Those who came to the continent from Turkey are no different from other countries, but judging by the narrative presented by the AKP and the media close to or controlled by it, the Turks are not acting with imperial enthusiasm. The purpose is to help the continent! Ahmet Davutoglu expressed this in 2009 when he was foreign minister: “We have a legacy of the Ottoman Empire. They call it ‘neo-Ottomanism.’ Yes, we are neo-Ottomans. We have to take care of the countries in our region. In fact, we are opening our doors in North Africa. The big countries are following them with surprise. And France in particular is investigating why we are opening up in North Africa. And I also gave instructions. In whatever African country Sarkozy goes, he will see the Turkish embassy building and the flag where he raises his head. “Keep the buildings in the most beautiful places,” were the instructions I gave .

Indeed, aid and other mutual relations continue through the doctrines of Ottomanism and Islam. That is, from political Islam. When this happened, the Gulenists, as the largest quasi-religious organization in Turkey at the time, became the largest mediator for Turkey’s presence in Africa. Gülen’s followers entered the region with all kinds of mechanisms and settled in their schools and humanitarian organizations. After the alleged coup attempt in 2016, when Erdoğan decided to purge the organs of people who were not loyal to him, Gülenists were hunted down from almost everywhere and the vacuum they created was filled by the Maarif Foundation, Yunus Emre Institute and TIKA. In addition, it was supported by the Red Crescent, the İHH Charitable Foundation, and the Anadolu Agency. The number of Turkish embassies in Africa reached 12 in 2002, and this number increased to 42 by 2020. In order to develop Turkey’s trade potential in Africa, many businesses and businesses have changed their way to Africa. Now the Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK) has joint business councils with 45 African countries.

The most invested Turkish companies in Africa are:

• Summa AS: Senegal, Congo, Niger and Rwanda
• Limak: Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Senegal
• Yabe Merkezi: Ethiopia, Tanzania
• Karadeniz Holding: Mozambique, Ghana
Al-Bairaq: Somalia

Where is the oil in all of this?

Of course, there is also the matter of “fossil fuels” in the equation. Turkey, which got involved in the civil war in Libya and thus entered into a maritime jurisdiction agreement with the country, received an invitation from the Somali government to explore for oil in its seas. Leasing land means establishing intimate relations with the powers in African states. Progress in other areas comes as a benefit to this.

If there is oil, there will be weapons, conflicts and soldiers. As a result, foreign relations follow military relations. The countries in which Türkiye has military power are the following:

• False judgment: 40,000
• Syria: 5000-7000
• Iraq: 2500
• Somalia: 2000
Kosovo: 400
Diameter: 300
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 250
• Lebanon: 100
• Azerbaijan: 100-200
• Albania: 24
• Libya: 35 – 100
• Democratic Republic of the Congo: 17
• Yes: 3-5
• Central African Republic: 3-5

According to the report titled “Global Defense Perspectives 2017” published by UK-based PwC, Turkey has the second most active military abroad after the United States as of 2016.

The “blue home” doctrine is also typical; In other words, Türkiye’s security. According to this doctrine, the broader frontier that Turkey must monitor and control is an area bordered to the northwest by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Albania, and Romania; and from the west the strait between Libya, Malta and Tunisia; And from the southwest of Libya. Egypt; from the north, Crimea and Ukraine; and from the northeast by the Caucasus and Kazakhstan; to the east Afghanistan and the shores of the Caspian Sea and Iran; from the south, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Bab-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden; In the southeast, it starts from Oman, Qatar, and the Strait of Hormuz. These are the borders of the Ottoman world in one way or another.

Destination Latin America and Ukraine

It was reported that some negotiations took place with a total of 10 countries, Not only in Africa, but also the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, as well as some countries in Latin America, have reached an agreement and contacts are continuing with some of these parties. Agricultural products that cannot be produced in Turkey for climatic reasons or whose production is insufficient will be grown in the agricultural lands to be leased. In the projects that will be implemented under the leadership of TİGEM, the private sector will also be involved in the leased lands. For example, tropical fruits and vegetables such as pineapples, mangoes, avocados and canola will be grown in Sudan, as well as sunflowers, corn, cotton, sesame, sugarcane and alfalfa, of which there is a production deficit in Turkey. It is mentioned that due to the recent increase in the prices of fodder, the focus will be on the production of fodder plants in the lands that will be leased. It is noteworthy that the production of wheat, which will be exported as biscuits, pasta and oatmeal abroad, will also be carried out on lands that will be leased abroad. During the Venezuelan delegation’s visit to Turkey in 2022, the agenda was to lease 400,000 hectares of agricultural land in Turkey. 400 thousand hectares is equivalent to 20% of the total agricultural holding in Türkiye. Ankara’s mission in Africa continues at a steady pace.

Petros Craneas