Karacabey farmers protest pesticide‑tainted water from Manyas Lake

Since 2018, irrigation water drawn from Manyas Lake and used for rice cultivation has contained pesticide residues. Karacabey Ziraat Odası deputy head Ramazan Düzen says the contaminated water now reaches about 220,000–230,000 decares of farmland, including 175,000 decares irrigated directly and another 35,000‑40,000 decares fed by the Karadere stream. The farmers claim they are paying for irrigation while their soils are being poisoned, leading to severe losses in vegetable crops, especially tomatoes and watermelons.

Düzen warned that the current contract prices for tomatoes are insufficient, citing rising fertilizer, diesel and raw‑oil costs linked to the war in Iran. He urged the Ministry of Agriculture and industry partners to raise tomato contract prices by at least 1,000–1,500 TL, to around 6,500–7,000 TL, and to provide financial support, otherwise local producers risk abandoning planting in coming seasons.