The Implementation Communiqué of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on “Supporting the Service Fee for Water Use for Agricultural Irrigation” was published in the Official Gazette.
With the Presidential Decision on Supporting the Water Usage Service Fee for Agricultural Irrigation Purposes, it was decided to support 50 percent of the water usage service fees of the producers.
With the Communiqué, the procedures and principles regarding the support of the water usage service fees of the farmers engaged in agricultural production in the irrigation fields operated by the irrigation unions and cooperatives were regulated this year.
Registration to the ÇKS will be required.
Accordingly, the conditions for the producers who will benefit from the support to be registered with the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS) and to be compatible with the data on the support payment and the data in the ÇKS system will be sought.
Producers registered with irrigation unions will need to have paid 50 percent of the water usage service fee during the production season in accordance with the payment schedule and have applied to the union with a consent letter to ensure that 50 percent of the water use service fee is transferred to the irrigation union account.
It is also required that the producers registered in the irrigation cooperative must have paid the entire water usage service fee during the production season in accordance with the payment schedule announced by the irrigation cooperatives within the period and have applied to the cooperative with documents issued on behalf of the producer stating that the entire water usage service fee has been paid.
The Ministry will pay
Summaries prepared for the remaining 50 percent of the water usage service fee will be sent to the Ministry within the first week of June, August, October and December to be paid. The Ministry will make the payments within the budgetary possibilities.
No more water will be loaded than the amount calculated according to the plant irrigation water requirement to be determined according to the farm irrigation water requirement per unit area of the plant irrigated by the irrigation union or irrigation cooperative, for the use of pre-loaded and pre-paid electronic card meters.
In the farmers’ cash payments, 50 percent of the water usage service fee will be paid by the water user producer to the irrigation union, and this amount will be included in the summary of the first payment installment to be made by the Ministry to the irrigation union on behalf of the producers. Settlement will be made according to the water usage service fee accrued by the irrigation union with subsequent measurement studies, depending on whether it is more or less.
After the control, suspension, objection and evaluation processes are completed, the provincial or district directorates will approve the icmals and send them to the Ministry until the end of the working day on November 17, 2023.
The icmal, suspension, control and approval processes related to the payment requests that may occur until 31 December 2023 regarding the water usage service fee will be determined by the relevant units, approved after the necessary works and transactions are completed and sent to the Ministry until the end of the working day on February 9, 2024.
The farmer applying for this support will accept that the support payment is made in accordance with the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry. Payments will be made to the accounts opened or to be opened in the name of the farmers at the relevant branches of the bank.
The Communiqué entered into force as of 1 January 2023.
