Climate pressure on Aegean farming and the need for young farmers

In a report published on 1 September 2026 by Ege Ajans, Ege University’s news agency, Dr Yarkın Akyüz of the Department of Agricultural Economics assesses the impact of the climate crisis on farming in the Aegean region. According to Akyüz, the problem is not only warming: irregular rainfall, untimely frost and extreme heat directly reduce yield and quality, while downpours during flowering and frost after early warm spells cause harvest losses.

The report notes that rising temperatures speed up pest reproduction and that in the Aegean, where several crops a year are common, disease and weed pressure is growing, pushing up spraying and production costs. On water, Akyüz says short, intense rainfall means water cannot be held in the soil, and groundwater levels in parts of the region have fallen below 150–200 metres. Water scarcity is changing the crop pattern, but unplanned shifts can create shortages in some crops and raise import dependence.

Akyüz says food prices rise through both tighter supply and higher irrigation, energy and pesticide costs; lasting solutions require sound land and water management, climate-resilient seed varieties, soil protection and effective producer cooperatives. The report’s central message is about young people: Akyüz stresses that they are the group best able to adopt sensors and data-driven irrigation, and that keeping them in rural areas requires models offering access to land, capital and secure markets.

Some existing support already points this way. In the 2026 Rural Development Investment Programme, investments by young entrepreneurs aged 18–41 receive a 60% grant and those by young entrepreneurs with agricultural education receive 70%; educated young entrepreneurs also get the highest score in the ranking. The water-saving irrigation grant supports smart irrigation and automation systems at 70%. These rates apply to the 2026 period and should be confirmed again when the 2027 rules are published.